Digimon Adventure: The Final Adventure
by IM-TAM
Summary: Four years ago, both the Real World and the Digital World were saved from MaloMyotismon. Humans and Digimon have lived in peace since then, and the DigiDestined have tried to live normal lives. But it was nothing more than a temporary peace, and an ancient evil now awakens. Daemon, the Demon Lord of Wrath, has finally returned.
1. Prologue

Another wave crashed, interrupting the otherwise silent shore. There was no movement other than that of the black waters. No wind blowing. No one talking. The sky had never seen a star. Time seemed to never pass.

Scubamon looked at the shore. It was the only thing he could do. He was surrounded by his brothers, but he had nothing to talk with any of them. They were shadows. Shadows that he barely recognized, and none of them meant anything to him. He looked at his own hand. A long time ago, his hand was covered in scales, but he didn't remember how they were. He knew they had been there, but all that was left was something dark, something shapeless. He had been a Digimon in the past, but no longer.

He looked at the sea again. The dark, endless sea. He had been living there for as long as he could remember, but he still didn't know anything about it. Once he swam for what seemed days, and when he looked back, the shore hadn't moved. How long ago was that? He had stopped caring about concepts such as days and months once there was no difference between them. The only thing he knew was that in the deepest part of it, in the dead city, his Master slept.

The Master was all Scubamon had left. Once his memories abandoned him, only the Master remained on his mind. His curiosity had been long forgotten, for all the answers he would ever get came from him. His body was stripped away from him in the name of him. His sanity had been slipping away for some months, or some years, because he no longer needed it.

His Master was all powerful. His mind couldn't conceive something bigger, something more powerful, because the Master was inside his mind as much as he was outside. He had control over everything he could see.

"Liar"

The voice was one he didn't remember he had. It wasn't a voice coming from his lips, but his mind. In his mind clouded by dark there was a light. The light contained a human, a strange human, who raised a monolith in their Dark Sea. With him there was the winged serpent, whose purple flames burned the sand. But they weren't alone. With them there was that girl… the light came from her. And with the girl, there was an angel. The rest of his being told him the Master was perfect, but the light inside him hadn't forgotten about the angel who brought light to the darkness.

But the light existed in a void. He remembered the angel and the girl, but he couldn't remember where they came from, when they appeared, or even if it had actually happened, or was merely an image he had conjured to escape from the endless Sea. Aside from the Master, the Sea and his brothers, the light was the only thing he had ever seen.

Until the Cloaked Stranger came. He would never forget that day, even if he didn't remember how long ago it happened. It began with a thunderous strike that tore open the sky. Engulfed in flame and light, the Cloaked Stranger disrupted the peace of the Sea when the world cracked to allow his entrance. But then the flame and light disappeared, and the world didn't break. The sky returned to its ever grey state, and everything was as it had always been, except for him.

He didn't touch the sand or the sea, but stood in the air thanks to his wings. He looked like a human, but his entire body was covered in that terrifying red cloak. For a time, he didn't move. His brothers looked at him every day, because they didn't know what he was, and their Master was asleep. None of them ever uttered a word, and none tried attacking him.

But then, one day, the Cloaked Stranger dived into the water, faster than anything he had ever seen. The Dark Sea trembled, and the few times he tried to go into it, it was boiling. The Scubamon were worried, because they were afraid the Stranger could harm their Master, but that never happened. The Master never left their mind, and the world went back to normal.

He looked at his hand. His hands had no scales, even though he believed he had them at some point. He wasn't sure. The wave crashed, as it had always done, and he thought about the light again. Whether real or fictional, it was there. Maybe if he thought about it enough, it would come back.

But then something unexpected happened. The waves had always broken the silence with the exact same difference between them. He had long forgotten how long a second was, but he knew perfectly how long it took for a new wave to appear. And now many waves crashed in the timespan only one usually would've. His head went back to the Sea, and he would've stood, had his legs not forgotten how to do so.

He felt paralyzed when, emerging from the Sea, the wings of the Cloaked Stranger revealed his appearance. The figure walked, unflinchingly, until he walked among them, and then behind them. He walked close to him, and he felt his body burn. Two great horns served as a crown. His mental image of the Stranger had no horns, and they only made him more threatening.

When the Stranger stopped, so did Scubamon's heart. He was looking at nothing, and from his position, Scubamon could only see his great wings. But then, the world cracked again. In front of the Stranger, there was light.

Scubamon's eyes couldn't believe it. His legs wouldn't respond, but his arms wanted to reach the light no matter what. He crept towards it. Even if it meant getting closer to the Stranger, he needed to see the light. It was all he wanted. But then, a sound, a terrifying sound stormed him. It was something he had never heard before, something powerful and evil that came from the Stranger. Fear overwhelmed him, and it was followed by pain. His body didn't respond. He stretched his arm, but the Stranger was too far away. The Stranger walked and entered the crack. He cried and begged the Master, the angel and the Stranger to let him go with him, but no one replied. As the crack closed, and the light disappeared, so did his strength, and when there was nothing left of them, he collapsed.

He felt nothing for a time. He heard or saw nothing for a time. But then, he did. His Master was moving. Dragomon had awakened.


	2. TK (I)

"When are Kari and Gatomon arriving?"

"In an hour or so, I think. She didn't tell me"

T.K. dried off and spent a good five minutes picking clothes. He was very nervous. She had gone to his house many times, but not his father's. At least, never like this. It was the first time they were going to have a serious dinner with him, Matt and Sora. Or as serious as that could be, anyways. His father wasn't as stressed out as he usually was, and he was cooking (usually, that would have been enough to worry T.K.), but there were rumors that he could be fired anytime, and that had clearly affected him. As for Matt, he had recently had a fight with Sora and even though they both claimed to be alright, they weren't nearly as affectionate as they used to be.

"T.K.! That's not a shirt, those are your pants!"

"Oh. Ha, you're right Patamon. I don't know what I was thinking".

"You keep trying to lie to me and you've never been good at it!"

"You read me like an open book. I guess I am just a bit nervous"

"Why? Are you afraid Kari is going to chew with her mouth open?"

"Ha. If only"

Patamon chuckled. T.K. liked having him around. Most other Digimon chose to stay in the Digital World, but Patamon was spending most of the time in the Human World nowadays. His child-like optimism and outlook never failed to cheer him up, and he needed that.

"Patamon… you know you can go back to the Digital World whenever you want, right?"

"I know! But if I could I'd be here with you at all times. We're partners, T.K."

"We were partners when the worlds needed DigiDestined. We're friends now"

"But we are best friends!"

He often wondered if Patamon understood human problems. He had changed a lot since they first met, but Patamon was the same, only more mature and confident. When any of their friends had an argument, they had a fight and then they were even closer. It wasn't quite that easy now. For a Digimon, that was probably hard to understand.

"That we are"

As he was setting up the table, Matt arrived. He wasn't looking his best. Only a few months ago he had to disband the Teenage Wolves because his studies were taking their toll on him. He had lost some weight and didn't sleep often. T.K. had tried to calm him down in the past, but Matt always told him he was fine and that he shouldn't have to worry. In many ways, Matt was slowly turning into Joe, even though he didn't want to admit it.

"How was your day, Matt?"

"If I tell you I'm about to explain something very important, and then proceeded to spew a bunch of nonsense, what would you think?"

"That you didn't have a very good day"

"Actually, I would say that's an average day! What are you dressed up as? I thought you had just invited Kari, not the circus!"

But in many ways, Matt was still Matt. But he was willing to admit he was probably dressed up too elegantly. Maybe he should change clothes again. What if everyone else was wearing casual clothes? He had assumed his father would dress up, but maybe he was asking too much. And what if he switched to casual clothes and Kari thought he didn't care enough?

"Kari and Gatomon!"

"Oh, hi, Patamon. How is it going?"

"T.K. has been worried all day, I've been trying to cheer him up"

"You're worried?"

"No I'm not, Patamon is exaggerating as always"

"I'm not!"

"Mmh, it's fairly evident one of you is lying. Takeru, you shouldn't lie to your older brother. What would Kari think?"

Matt kept teasing him for a few minutes. He feigned outrage, if only because Matt loved to do it. Seeing him laugh was worth the jokes, and hopefully he'd run out of them by the time Kari arrived. His own brain and his brother's words convinced him of the contrary.

Sora arrived half an hour later. If his father's house was bigger, he could've probably told himself Matt had sounded excited when he greeted her. His father was probably happier to see her. When she got closer, Patamon flew straight to her. The two of them had always gotten along, and Patamon seemed unaware of the tension. T.K told himself not to be overtly friendly, but he was very happy to see her. If it weren't for Sora, he would've probably never gotten far with Kari.

Sora sat with Matt, and the four of them watched tv while their father cooked (the charred smell would've worried most people, but they all had tried his father's food already). Sora and Matt didn't say a word to each other, but that was better than witnessing another snark contest. She had always been an attractive girl, but it had been more noticeable lately, since she put a lot more effort on her appearance nowadays. At least, she was wearing clothes far more expensive than his own, so he wouldn't stand out as much as he had previously feared.

He had tried to bring up something to talk about for the last fifteen minutes, to no avail. Patamon fared better, when he mentioned the last time they had gone to the Digital World, just two weeks ago. Tai, Yolei, Ken, Kari and T.K. had gone to see their Digimon and eat with some of their friends, when an Allomon and a Tyrannomon interrupted them in a rather brutal fight until Greymon put an end to it. He made both of them apologize and then hug. Thinking back, he might have gone too far, but everyone laughed. Wormmon, Hawkmon and Gatomon went to the Real World afterwards for the first time in some weeks, whereas Patamon had been living with T.K. for close to two months already. Agumon stayed, as he wanted to make sure Tyrannomon and Allomon wouldn't threaten anyone else.

Most of the Digimon chose to live in the Digital World, since for the last few years there had been many politicians who claimed any Digimon, no matter the kind, was a threat to the Real World, and since they didn't want to cause any trouble they only stayed in the Human World for a few weeks at a time. Izzy was the exception, as he usually worked alongside Tentomon and as a result Tentomon only went back to the Digital World whenever groups of Kuwagamon went rogue.

Kari was ten minutes late already, and he was starting to get even more worried. Kari was never late, she hadn't texted or called, and Sora and Matt had already started with some unfortunate remarks. The dinner wasn't looking too good either way but it's not like that surprised him, he had joked around with Patamon before about how they'd have to go buy dinner.

"T.K., where is Kari? If this were a normal dinner, she'd be late", said Sora.

"I don't know, I'll call her and see if she's alright"

Her phone didn't work, even though he called her three times. He tried to contact her with his D-Terminal, but after five minutes, she didn't reply.

"Why isn't she replying?"

He probably sounded much more worried than he wanted to.

"Have you tried phoning her house?"

"Oh, right! Yeah, she's probably there…"

He kept telling that to himself, but it didn't make any sense. It was Tai who answered.

"Tai? Tai! How are you, Tai? Tai! Could you, please, ask Kari when is she coming?"

"Who is that?"

"I'm T.K. Takeru. T.K."

"Oh, T.K. What are you talking about? Kari left like forty minutes ago"

"Ah… did she have to do anything before coming here? Maybe buy something? Perhaps?"

"Wait a minute, T.K., are you telling me Kari isn't there?"

"No, she's not!"

"Did you call her?"

"No. I mean, yes, yes I did. Her phone is not working and she's not replying with the D-Terminal. Oh, no, what if… what if something bad has happened to her?"

"She was with Gatomon"

"What if something bad has happened to the two of them? Maybe she's doing something for your mother, could you ask her? Please?"

"T.K. are you kidding me? My mother gave her some cake or pie or something like that for you because she didn't want you to go buy dinner this late, she didn't tell her anything!"

"But then…"

"Are you seriously telling me Kari is missing?"

"Tai… I…"

"I'm calling Davis, he has to bring Agumon here. T.K., stay home and if anything, anything happens, call me immediately"

"Matt and Sora can stay here in case she appears. I'm going out to find her with Patamon"

Patamon didn't have to wait for T.K. to explain. Matt asked something but T.K. didn't listen. He was already running towards the door when his brother was only starting to get up.

And, after a long time, he once again shouted "Digi-Armor Energize".


	3. Izzy (I)

Izzy finished his noodles and added the dish to the ever growing pile in the right side of his table. Two large monitors, his laptop, and an endless amount of energy drinks covered the rest. The computers were the only source of light, so late in the night. His parents had gone to bed some time ago, but he wasn't sleeping. He hadn't slept in some days now, and very few times ever since the mysterious disturbance.

"That's Davis' D-3"

Tentomon had the annoying habit of stating the obvious. He had set up his surveillance system for close to two years already, and he was perfectly used to see the effect of the D-3 in the Digital World. While its properties to artificially open a Digital Gate were prodigious, to say the least, it had nothing to do with his current research.

"Why would Davis go to the Digital World so late?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it has anything to do with our problem?"

"I highly doubt that. Not only the effects of the disturbance aren't affecting the physical layer of the Digital World, Davis has never been particularly interested in research"

"Then…"

"It could be anything. Maybe he missed Veemon. It's pointless. Focus, Tentomon. We have to find the source"

With help from Gennai, Izzy came up with the idea of monitoring the Digital World, to understand it better, but also to detect and prevent potential dangers. The continuously morphing code that defined it was barely readable, but he understood it better than he did a year ago, and he understood it better a year ago than he did two years ago. He was perfectly able to see a naturally occurring Digital Gate, which had become more common ever since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, as well as the artificial Digital Gates that only the D-3s could cause.

"Maybe… maybe it's an Infermon again?"

"No… while Infermon and later, Diaboromon, had a powerful effect on the Net, the Digital World contains far more information. And they were able to do it due to their nature as informatics viruses, in the Digital World they're little more than powerful, albeit normal Digimon. No, no, this is different. Don't you see how hectic these lines are? They're constantly changing… There's no manipulation here, Tentomon, the Digital World is reacting to something"

Tentomon was late in his suspicion. A possible comeback of Diaboromon was the first thing in his mind when the Digital World started to show such strange behavior, but he dismissed it soon after. He could never be sure, of course, since he had never been able to test his system against Diaboromon, and could only make hypothesis. However, if there was any chance of the disturbance being a side effect of Diaboromon's influence, the fact he hadn't made his presence known yet made it impossible.

"Maybe… maybe it's Apocalymon? He was able to affect the entire Digital World"

"That's much more likely. Apocalymon deleted himself, and we don't know if he did that knowing he was capable of coming back, in a new Digital World. But it's still a remote possibility. If Apocalymon could reassemble himself after destroying everything, he would've done it when he first appeared, not use it as a last resort. He didn't seem to have a great sense of self-preservation"

"So… are you ruling out the possibility that this is being made by a dark Digimon?"

"No."

"Myotismon?"

"If there's someone we can reasonably conclude that will never be back, that's Myotismon."

"Then, who else could do this?"

"The biggest problem, Tentomon, is that we don't know what "this" is. Yolei told me the Digital World seemed fine the last time they went, and the situation hasn't changed since then. It makes sense, but doesn't leave us with too many possibilities."

"And Gennai didn't know anything"

"That's what puzzles me the most"

Gennai had always been the answer to every riddle in the world. His DigiDestined companions always used their chances to go back to the Digital World as excuses to see their old friends, explore the vast world, and enjoy everything it had to offer, he simply went to Gennai's house and tried to know more about its origin and its secrets. But Gennai didn't know anything about the disturbance, and he even suggested he was seeing problems where there wasn't any.

But Gennai was wrong. The Digital World was data, and as such it should follow logical patterns. But the fact remained all these disturbances were happening in an outer layer of the World, had no effect on the physical realm, and no one, not even Gennai, thought it was something serious. But then, what could it be?

Only his parents and Tentomon believed his theory that something strange was happening, although they all agreed that he needed to rest. It was true that his hair had grown a bit more than he usually restricted himself to, and the shade of a beard was too present now. He hadn't paid any attention to his studies in some time, but that was because his studies were almost insultingly easy. He needed to take care of himself, as noodles and energy drinks weren't the best or most healthy diet, but he needed to focus all his energy in the nonsensical numbers of his monitor, and discover why they were so different from the usual ones.

He kept telling himself the mysterious Dark Area was the source, but wasn't sure if that was a genuine answer, or a different mystery that besieged his sleep-deprived mind. He couldn't monitor it, nor explore it. The birthplace, home, and prison of the Demon Digimon. How could he know that wasn't the solution, when he didn't even know it?

"Any luck analyzing if the series follows a pattern, Tentomon?"

"Doesn't seem like it. There are many, many numbers, and whenever I think I can predict the next one, it's not. It does seem like the numbers are just… random"

"As I feared. But why would anyone add a random number generator here? What's the purpose? And who could do it?"

He emptied another can. It was tremendously frustrating. Correcting his own code was tedious, but correcting someone else's was near impossible. When he had to do it with a code he didn't understand, and only reading the results, he was simply giving himself a headache.

"Izzy, what if the code doesn't belong in here?"

"What are you talking about Tentomon? I know it doesn't belong in here. That is the entire problem"

"I know, I know, but maybe it simply does not belong in here."

"You are doing it again…"

"No, no, think about it. These numbers didn't replace anything. They are just there. But whatever they do, they keep doing it, and it doesn't affect the Digital World at all. Maybe it's because they don't come from the Digital World, but they're still there…"

"That doesn't make any sense. That would mean another, completely different program is getting mixed up with the Digital World and…"

Somehow, Tentomon's ability to state the obvious had been the key all along.


	4. Mimi (I)

He was taking too long. She hadn't eaten anything yet and her lunch break only lasted one hour. Sure, Michael had to come from very far, but if he wasn't going to be punctual the least he could have done was telling her. At least she could've eaten something… but if she went back inside her friends would tease her about Michael not showing up. And she wasn't going to take that. She'd pretend he had appeared, if she had to.

Her fears were unfounded. After five minutes of waiting, she could hear his voice calling her from across the street. He had the build of his father, and he seemed to have inherited his height as well. Sometimes the enormous height difference had been a problem, but Mimi didn't mind. He was very handsome, but he was very sweet, too. It's a shame he went to one of those private schools for the children of famous people. Her friends had an easier time believing she was one of the original DigiDestined until they actually saw them together.

"Michael Burton! Where the hell have you been?"

"Mimi! I must admit I expected something different. "Michael! I've missed you so much" would've been better"

"I'm so hungry! Why did you make me wait? Are you trying to look more interesting?"

"…did I make you wait?"

"Yes, you did!"

"Ah. Well, then, I apologize. Will you give me the chance to fix this?"

"Mmh. Perhaps. You don't seem to be sorry enough"

Michael bowed his head.

"Mimi Tachikawa, will you please forgive me?"

Mimi grabbed his head and kissed him. It had been some days since the last time. She missed it.

"So what were you going to show me?"

"Here, it'll take a bit"

He grabbed her hand and started walking.

"You know, I do have class in an hour"

"You'll be there"

"You know, you can tell me if it's going to take more than that."

"It won't, I promise"

"Well, where the hell are we going?"

"You'll see"

"I don't like it when you don't tell me anything"

"That's why I don't"

She didn't ask anymore. She had her way to get him to tell her anything she wanted, but now it wasn't the time.

They were walking for a good fifteen minutes. In that time, Mimi heard a couple stories about his classmates (that she couldn't care less about), about his father's next movie (a remake of some horror movie that she hadn't watched), something about a test (that made her wish Michael would keep talking about his classmates) and then about his actual friends. She liked those, since she had met them. She didn't tell him much, mostly because she was angry he would dodge any question that could lead to answering where they were going.

"Come on, Mimi, don't be so mad. You'll see in a second"

"I'm not mad. But sometimes you are a jerk", she didn't believe it, and trying to make him feel guilty had never worked, but there was no harm in trying.

"Look… perhaps I do like to tease you a bit too much. But you're worse!"

"Not true!"

"You spent two weeks before my birthday telling me how great your present was and then you forgot!"

"I didn't forget! I did give you your present"

"Yeah, a week later"

"Well, excuse me for ordering such cool stuff it takes three weeks for them to deliver it. The next time I'm just buying you some flowers and I don't want to hear any complaints"

"Aw, don't be mad"

"I'm not!"

They entered the port. Could the surprise be a boat? No, no, that'd be ridiculous. Michael had enough money, but a boat would make no sense. Maybe the present was inside the boat. Well, if that was the case, Michael could've just given it to her directly and then use these fifteen minutes for something better.

"Hold on a second", he said, and walked to the edge.

He whistled, and then the water shook. Mimi couldn't wait to see what it was, and had to take a look.

The enormous, yellow head of Seadramon had risen from the water and now stood directly under them. She couldn't hide her surprise.

"Seadramon? What's he doing here? When did you bring him here?"

"Yesterday. I used the Digital Gate on Central Park to bring Betamon"

"Are you crazy? This is very risky!"

He was being reckless. There were very strict regulations to Digimon in America, after some incidents involving them in the past. Sure, Seadramon, alongside with her friend Lillymon weren't guilty of anything and they had helped stop the rogue Digimon, but that didn't change anything. Some people had even talked about how the Real World should be more involved with the Digital World in order to prevent any more accidents. While Digimon were allowed to live in America, there was no way of doing it without raising eyebrows and getting unwanted attention. Seadramon was the first Digimon she saw in the Real World for more than a year.

"It is"

"I told him the same, Mimi", replied Seadramon, with his incredibly deep voice.

"What if he gets in trouble?"

"Seadramon won't get in trouble"

Michael jumped and landed on Seadramon's head. Then he offered his hand. Mimi hesitated, but accepted.

She forgot her fears soon. She loved the sea. Seadramon kept most of his body underwater, but she could still reach out and feel the waters. The Digimon was very fast, but they never felt they could fall. It wasn't the first time they did it, but it had only been in the Digital World. They hadn't gone in such a long time…

"Seadramon, how is Palmon?"

"She went to live with the Gekomon and Otamamon for a time…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. How is she now?"

"She's leading a forest to prepare their defenses in case Bug Digimon attack again. There are Woodmon, Cherrymon, and even a couple of Blossomon following her. Pretty amazing considering she's just a Rookie, but the other Digimon think she's the best suited for the job"

"Palmon… I'm so proud of her. Wonder if she misses me"

"Of course she does, how can you ask that?"

"Well, Mimi, you'll be able to ask her directly tomorrow", interrupted Michael.

"Oh?"

"Our anniversary is in two days, Mimi. I thought the best way to do something unique was going to the Digital World this entire weekend. What do you think?"

She couldn't believe it. For their first two anniversaries, Michael took her to a fancy, expensive restaurant. A weekend in the Digital World was completely different but it was a fantastic idea. She tried to say many things, but couldn't remember the words. So she kissed him. She was so excited.

"Thanks a lot, Michael. And thanks a lot, Seadramon. This is… thanks a lot"

"So you're no longer mad at me?"

"Idiot"

She kissed him again, then rested her head on his strong shoulder, and simply enjoyed the view. She didn't even remember concepts such as "lunch break" anymore. All that mattered was that moment, and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. She was finally going back to the Digital World.


	5. Tai (I)

"Stupid T.K. Stupid Matt. Stupid Davis"

Tai kept repeating himself, as he didn't want to think of anything else. It was very late, but at least it wasn't very cold. He had grabbed the closest clothes he had after he was done talking to T.K. Stupid T.K. Stupid Davis. Stupid Matt. How did they let that happen?

T.K. should've gone to his house and pick up Kari himself. Davis took too long to answer his phone call and go search for Agumon. And Matt was just stupid.

For a Friday night, the streets were relatively empty, although there were enough people blocking his path to add their presumed names on his list of stupid people. A couple of the girls looked like Kari, but they weren't her. And what would Kari be doing with so many strangers so late? He was too tired to think. He just wanted to see her and maybe punch Matt in the face.

Maybe he should've gone with her to Matt's house… he really didn't want to, but he was his older brother. He had to protect her. But then again, Gatomon was with her, and that was Gatomon's duty. Stupid Gatomon. No, Gatomon wasn't stupid. Whatever had happened it had affected her as well. Stupid Matt.

At least his parents were asleep when he left. He didn't want to tell them Kari was missing. He gave her another call, but her phone still didn't work. If he still had one of those fancy D-Terminals he could've tried that, too, but if T.K. was right about the phone he probably was right about that as well. Stupid T.K.

Kari left his house almost two hours ago. So much could've happened. So much could've gone wrong. It wasn't good to think about that. At least, not even in his distressed state he saw many suspicious people. "Of course not, they already have Kari". No, it wasn't good to think about that either. Gatomon was with Kari. He had seen that cat punch Greymon once. And Angewomon killed Myotismon. Well, she actually didn't. Angewomon killed LadyDevimon. There was no way anyone would've harmed her if Gatomon was with her. But what if she wasn't? No, no, that didn't make sense. What would Gatomon do, if not protect Kari? But Kari was way too kind, maybe she told Gatomon she could do something else and enjoy the night. That made sense. No, Gatomon wouldn't have accepted that.

He had gone through this street already. Twice. He needed to focus. His brain kept trying to worry him, and then calm him down. Stupid brain. He needed it to make sure he would notice any hint. Perhaps her D-Terminal under a tree, or her phone in a bench. Anything. There was nothing worse than not knowing what to do other than search aimlessly. Well, there could be something worse but… no, not possible. It was better for everyone involved if he didn't think about it.

He didn't recognize the park. Maybe under normal circumstances and under daylight, but behind every tree he saw something sinister that wasn't there. He was getting very frustrated, and punched the tree with all his strength. The pain helped to calm him down. Not as much as if the tree was Matt's face, but it did the job. Then he heard the wind, and two enormous wings. When he looked up, he saw Pegasusmon. He yelled and tried to get his attention. The Armor Digimon made some circles in the air, undoubtedly because he wanted to get in his nerves. Finally, T.K.'s partner descended.

"Tai!"

"T.K. Where is Kari?"

"I… I don't know. We've been flying for… an hour or something, and we haven't seen her"

Tai inhaled. He couldn't be angry at T.K. His voice was a wreck, as if he had spent most of that hour yelling. What he needed was support, not an angry man telling him it was his fault his little sister was missing.

"Calm down, T.K. Breathe"

"What if something terrible has happened to her? How am I going to calm down, Tai? I shouldn't have allowed her to go by herself, alone, this late"

Tai placed his hand on Pegasusmon's armor. The Digimon was very nervous as well, but he made a better job at hiding it.

"T.K., what is your crest?"

"What?"

"Tell me"

"…Hope"

"Hope. You're not making anyone, least of all Kari, any favors by losing your mind over something you had no control over"

"How can you say that? If I had been with Kari…"

"Gatomon was with Kari. Whatever has happened to her, if Gatomon couldn't prevent it, then you couldn't. Worse, it might have happened to you, too. So calm down and don't think of the worst. I've done that for both of us"

T.K. dismounted. He was still a short guy. He was wearing an expensive shirt, and his pants were definitely not fit for searching. He probably went to look for Kari without even changing clothes. Tai placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Tai, I…"

"You did well by letting me know. And then you wanted to search for her with Pegasusmon, even though I told you I would do it"

"He wanted to make sure we could find her", said Pegasusmon. T.K.'s Digimon was very timid, but Tai knew he would immediately help to bring T.K.'s confidence back.

"What do we do, Tai?"

"We are going to find Kari, of course"

"But… how?"

"First of all, we have to figure out where she is. Did you phone your mother?"

"My mother? Why would I do that"

"Maybe Kari thought you were going to meet up there, and then go together to your father's"

"I honestly don't think so… she would've called"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Your D-3 didn't react at all, right? You must have been flying for a long time and they always react when getting close to each other"

"No"

"Maybe it isn't working?"

"What? No, of course it's working. Otherwise Patamon couldn't have digivolved"

"Right…"

"And how do you think I found you?"

"Well, I was yelling"

"Not loud enough, Tai"

"Fine, fine. If the D-3 didn't react at all, then it's because she's not around here. Not even inside buildings"

T.K. seemed to have noticed the same thing Tai had.

"And if she's not at all between your house and my father's, then either she went in a completely different direction, or…"

"Or she's gone to the Digital World"

"But why would she do that?"

"I don't know, T.K. But I'm sure she's there. She has to be there"

His brain was telling him how he was wrong. Maybe Kari was indeed going to Matt's house, but on the way there someone forced her to go in another direction… No, no. Gatomon would've done something. The Digital World made much more sense. But… could the D-3 open a Digital Gate without a computer? He wasn't sure. He couldn't share these thoughts with T.K. At least one of them needed to be sure everything was going to be alright.

"Alright, let's say she's on the Digital World. That's not going to make finding her any easier. In fact, she's probably in more danger there"

"T.K., T.K. … that's why it's always useful to have an insane friend"

"What? Wait, who are you calling?"

"Izzy"

"But… it's very late, he's going to be asleep"

"T.K., when was the last time you saw Izzy? He's a bat hybrid now. He doesn't need sleep, rest or human food"

The last few weeks Izzy had gone from quirky, but friendly, to crazy old man living alone in the mountains. But at least it was related to his vigilance over the Digital World. If anyone had used a D-3 to open a gate, Izzy would know. He took longer to answer than Tai had expected, but he replied.

"Tai?"

"Izzy! Izzy! Digital gates! Has anyone used a D-3 tonight? Can you tell me if anyone has opened a gate?"

"What?"

"A gate!"

"Yeah, yeah. But Tai, listen, do you remember…"

"She has! T.K., she has!"

Tai couldn't believe it. Had it really been so easy? T.K.'s smile was bigger than his entire head, and he jumped at Pegasusmon, excited. The Digimon reacted the exact way little Patamon would've.

"Tai, that's not important. The important thing is…"

"Can you tell us where she is? Or can you talk to her directly?"

"Tai, listen… wait, "she?""

"Yeah, Kari"

"What's wrong with Kari?"

"She's the one who made that gate"

"What? No. It was Davis"

He had forgotten all about Davis. Stupid Davis.

"What about Kari?"

"Nothing, she's not made any gate"

"What? No, no, that can't be right. Izzy, friend, Izzy, please, can you check again? Maybe you missed another gate? Or maybe you thought it was Davis' D-3 but it's actually Kari's?"

"No. I'm 100% sure it's Davis, and not Kari", Izzy almost seemed insulted, "Tai, are you telling me Kari is missing?"

"Yes! Izzy that's exactly what I'm telling you! Give me a call if anything, anything that can help us shows up in one of your million computers"

"Tai, wait! Listen…"

Tai hung up. He didn't want to listen again about how important a seven in the place of a five in a list of a million numbers was. T.K.'s face revealed he knew exactly what they had talked about.

"No… but what else? What else…"

T.K. seemed terrified. Tai needed to do something. He phoned Izzy again.

"Tai! What the hell is wrong with…"

"Izzy! Can your computer mumbojumbo tell if Kari has gone to the Digital World with a normal gate? Maybe… maybe she fell into one accidentally or something?"

"What? No. No way that happened. The closest gate is…"

"Are you sure?"

"Tai, if you ask me, the least you can do is believing what I tell you!"

He realized how rude he was being. It wasn't Izzy's fault. He didn't want to seem so nervous in front of T.K. and Pegasusmon. He needed to get together.

"Sorry, Izzy. I just… I just can't do anything… you don't know what this is like…"

"Tai, listen to me. I think I might know where Kari is".

"What? Why didn't you say before?"

"Because I'm not sure, and I don't want to give you false hopes"

"I'll take any you can give me"

"Look… there's a chance a third world is involved. One that is affecting both the Real World and the Digital World."

"A third world? What are you talking about, Izzy? You mean Africa?"

T.K. got closer and took his phone. If he was still scared, he didn't look like it. It was Tai who was terrified now.

"Izzy… do you think the Dark Ocean has summoned Kari again?"


	6. Izzy (II)

Davis, Veemon and Agumon arrived a lot later than he had expected. Tai, T.K. and Patamon had fallen asleep on his couch, so he had left them in order to study more of the code. The Dark Sea… it seemed like a very likely possibility. It was related in some form to the Digital World, and Kari had problems with it in the past. He needed a group to perform an empirical test, and he had it now. Under Tentomon's insistence, he shaved and bathed, which helped in keeping him awake.

He hadn't seen Davis in a very long time. He still had Tai's goggles on, but it was very likely only due to the circumstances. Out of all the DigiDestined, he had changed the least. But he was genuinely worried. Izzy wasn't aware (nor really cared) about the gossiping that had happened between T.K., Kari and Davis, but he was glad to know it wouldn't affect the efficiency of the mission, as Davis truly seemed heartfelt when he hugged T.K.

"Izzy, what have you discovered?" hearing these words coming not from Tentomon, his parents or Gennai, but Tai, brought back many memories.

"In simple terms, an outside influence is constantly interacting with the Digital World. The data seems random on sight, but it's easily explained if we consider the Dark Sea as the source. I contacted Gennai, and he seems to agree."

"But what is the Dark Sea, exactly?" asked Davis.

"Gennai doesn't know. From what I've gathered, the Dark Sea is extremely ancient, and a constant source of dark energy. It's a different entity from the Digital World, but closer to it than it is to the Real World. It's ruled by a Digimon called Dragomon, although Gennai doesn't know anything about it. It seems Kari, as the bearer of the Crest of Light, has some sort of connection with it".

"Is Dragomon an enemy?"

"We don't know, Tai. Dragomon doesn't seem to care about anything other than the Sea, but it's impossible to tell"

"I thought we had fixed this…"

"You can't fix what you don't understand, T.K. Maybe the Dark Sea summoned her, maybe not. Again, this is all a hypothesis. For all we know, Kari could still be here. Maybe she did accidentally enter a Digital Gate"

"But you said there weren't any!"

"No, I said she didn't open any, and that the closest natural one was far away, but it's still possible. I'm just trying to inform you of the most reasonable scenario, but it doesn't have to be the right one"

"Well, seems simple, doesn't it? We go to the Dark Sea, and we ask that Dragomon if Kari is in there"

"You don't know how Dragomon would react, Tai. Gennai doesn't know anything about it, but he did use the words "eldritch" and "deity" to refer to it. You don't know if it's open to dialogue, or even if it has a physical form you can talk to! Besides, I cannot open a gate to the Dark Sea"

"Ken can", interrupted Davis.

"Yes. Ken has used his digivice to open a gate to the Dark Sea in the past", agreed T.K.

"That's what I hoped. Can you call him? Tell him to come here. He might need Wormmon"

"That'll be no problem, Izzy, Wormmon is in the Real World"

Davis and T.K. phoned Ken. It took some time, as it was early in the morning, but once they explained the situation (although they were taking for granted Kari was in the Dark Sea) he immediately left for his house.

"Hey, Izzy. Sorry for not caring about your experiments. They might be the key to save Kari"

"Well, first of all, Tai, they aren't experiments. But… thank you. But… please, have in mind, Kari might not be there at all. We're just guessing"

"I know, I know, but still. A good friend shouldn't just ignore what you're doing"

"Well…. A good friend shouldn't ignore you. For that, I apologize"

"Let's just say we've both been awful"

"We can compromise"

They shook their hands.

His parents woke up before Ken arrived, and they were tremendously happy Izzy was surrounded by friends. They knew Tai very well, as he was the only one who still had visited somewhat regularly, but they still remembered Davis and T.K. They kept talking and sharing embarrassing stories about him, and they wanted to make sure they all ate breakfast. Admittedly, he had forgotten just how great real food was.

When Ken arrived, the spectacle repeated itself, so much that he told them to go to his room. While he enjoyed it, there were much more important issues at hand.

"Well, Ken, I assume Davis and T.K. have filled you in"

"Yes"

"Do you think you can open the gate to the Dark Sea?"

Ken was dubitative.

"I haven't done it in more than four years, and hoped I wouldn't have to do it again. But I will, no matter how hard it is"

"Well said, Ken!" it was rare for Wormmon not to cheer everything that came out of Ken's mouth.

"Do you all realize the dangers that lie beyond the gate?"

"There's one you haven't talked about… Daemon", T.K. interrupted.

They all looked at him. Daemon. He forgot all about him. The powerful Digimon that Ken and the others were forced to seal away in the Dark Sea… he was an unexpected player.

"Daemon was sealed in the Dark Sea and he hasn't come out of it yet. Even if Dragomon is friendly, what about him?"

"If he's in there, we'll kick his ass again and save Kari anyways!" replied Davis. "Or have you forgotten about her already?"

"I haven't, Davis, but last time we couldn't do anything to stop him. And it's not like we can send him anywhere else"

"I think Daemon fought Dragomon and lost, but it took him so long to recover that's why only now the Dark Sea is an issue again"

"That's… a very good hypothesis, Tai", Izzy was genuinely surprised.

"And even if Daemon is there, we aren't going to go there to fight him. We only want to save Kari. Once we've saved her, we'll go back"

"Tai… Kari might not be there"

"I'm sure she is. Trust me"

When Tai said something, it was hard not to believe it.

"We've got WarGreymon, Imperialdramon and MagnaAngemon. I'm sure Daemon will think twice about messing with us"

"Are we really going to do it, then? Jump there, to the unexpected, even though two very powerful Digimon could be waiting for us?"

Ken's question made them all doubt. But Tai, T.K. and Davis were determined. Ken nodded, and stood up.

"Been so long since the last time we fought together. Are you ready, Wormmon?"

"It's time to remind everyone just how strong we are!"

Ken held his D-3 firmly towards one of the monitors. He seemed much more confident than one would've guessed.

"Remember your objective. The last thing you need is an unwanted fight with either of them"

Everyone nodded. Ken started to sweat, but then the Digivice glowed in a purple light. One of his monitors turned black, and everyone heard the sound of the sea. Ken started trembling, but Davis placed his hand on his shoulder.

"You are stronger than it is"

"I know."

Then, the four DigiDestined and their Digimon disappeared, leaving only Izzy and Tentomon behind. Izzy's monitor went back to normal, and the stress he felt when he saw the famous Dark Ocean was gone.

"Do you think they'll save her?"

"I hope so, Tentomon… but I need to contact Gennai"

Daemon. He had forgotten all about him. He never faced him, but he had heard the story so many times. How could he forget?

Gennai was shocked that he asked him about Daemon. It was the worst reaction possible. There were many rumors about him, and they were all bad news. But then, he needed a double take to make sure he read right. It was Tentomon who broke the silence.

"Azulongmon? Why… why would Gennai want you to talk to him?"

"I… I don't know, Tentomon"

"It must be very serious"

Tentomon and his usual sharpness. He agreed to have the encounter, that very day, an hour after his parents usually ate. He had enough time to eat with them. Yolei would probably want to go with him, and having her D-3 the travel to the Digital World would be much more efficient. Talking to Azulongmon directly… it was going to be quite the experience.

He went to his parents, and told them everything that was going on. They wanted to phone Kari's parents to support them, but he discouraged them. Tai had sent them a message to tell them she was going to spend the whole Saturday with T.K., and it was better for everyone not to worry them.

"Izzy! Izzy! Come here, quickly!"

He had to interrupt his mother, but Tentomon seemed serious. When he went to his room, Tentomon kept checking all the monitors very quickly.

"What's going on? Tentomon, what's wrong?"

"A digital gate has opened!"

"Let me see… it's here, in Odaiba. It's… a pretty big gate. Uh"

"No, Izzy, check this out"

He didn't notice until Tentomon pointed it out. From his computers, all the information he received was nothing but long series of numbers. The anomaly that has controlled his thoughts for weeks had finally stopped, and the sequence didn't change anymore. It was the exact same sequence that this new, massive Digital Gate, was showing.


	7. Sora (I)

Venus Fort would have to end up building a statue of her, at that rate. She always went there after she had a fight with Matt, and it had been happening often, so often… Both her mother and her high school friends had given her the terrible habit of spending money on superficial things to empty their mind from their problems. It worked to a degree, but not when she did it every couple of weeks, at least. She knew she was lying to herself. It was more often than that.

The shoes were beautiful, but she couldn't waste her money on them. She bought another pair of heels less than a month ago, and that was just the last on a long list. Why, why was she doing this. Why was this easier than facing their problems together, as she always thought they would've.

She was paying for a black dress. When did she pick it up? It seemed as elegant as it was expensive. Not a kimono as she usually liked. She had undoubtedly tried it, but she didn't remember when. She should've slept more. If only she rested, when she woke up everything would be alright…

She opened her eyes. She was sitting outside the store, with her new dress in a bag. Her head hurt. Her bones hurt.

"Sora… why are you doing this to yourself"

Her mind wandered. It had been four years… back when Matt was a promising rockstar. He was so handsome… he was every girl's dream, but he only reciprocated her feelings. They were so innocent at the time… but she was 14, they all expected their first love to be perfect. Their first fight… why was it? When was it? Tai had nothing to do that time. Matt had gotten boring. The "bad boy", the "lone wolf", lost everything that made him unique. He never tried to surprise her, it was as if he had gotten old in the span of a few months. And Matt said something about her as well. He accused her mother of brainwashing her. He said she was trying to turn her into someone she wasn't. But they apologized, and everything was right at the end.

She grabbed her Digivice. Biyomon was in the Digital World, teaching young Bird Digimon how to fly, but Sora had always believed, if she concentrated, Biyomon could hear her thoughts and comfort her. She missed her.

Their second fight was much worse. Matt wanted to spend his time with his friends, much more than with her, and she got jealous. He didn't take it well, but her reaction was worse. She wanted to get back at Matt, and Tai… He had always been her best friend. He got her back, and when she started to go to places she shouldn't have, he protected her. He brought Biyomon to make her realize she was being only hurting herself. But they were close, too close to make the mistake she never wanted them to make. At least he got them to talk and realize how they needed each other. It helped them to get out of their next fights, and they got a lot closer than they had ever been. She would always thank Tai for that.

If only that was all they needed now. Matt was very stressed out due to his studies. She knew that, and she was very proud he had managed to become such an excellent student. But he barely talked to her, or anyone else. He finally disbanded the Teenage Wolves. And he said the only reason she talked so much with Kari was because she wanted to get closer to Tai. How could he say that? She wanted to help his brother but he didn't believe her. And when she confronted him, Matt told her she was as exhausting as a full-time job, and that he barely had fun with her anymore. It was a tough time, and it had been the last time Biyomon had gone to the Real World. She needed someone she could tell everything, someone who could understand her.

"Don't be so hard on him"

It was true. She knew she wasn't in the right. He didn't study for an exam because she got sick and he took care of her. And it was true that he didn't have much free time for them, but she shouldn't have demanded to see him more often. When she said she wished he was more like Tai in many things, he got angry, but rather than tease him about it, she should've explained herself better.

She punched her head. If only she was willing to admit her mistakes out loud. But for some reason she couldn't do that with Matt. She had a lot of problems to talk about her feelings with Matt… but not with Tai. She felt more comfortable talking to T.K. about her insecurities than with his brother, her boyfriend. She had the crest of Love. She shouldn't have these problems. She shouldn't.

The night before, Kari had disappeared, and T.K. went to search for her. Hiroaki was a great man, but he was a wreck. He could be fired any day, and if that happened, they wouldn't be able to keep the house. He didn't bring positivity to the table, and when they had dinner, the last thing they needed was another argument. Someone brought up how Sora's family didn't have such problems, to the point where Sora's clothing being so expensive meant how she was spoiled. She left shortly afterwards.

She shed a tear. Matt and his father were under severe problems, and there she was, buying clothes out of spite. Why was she doing it? Was Matt right? There was some truth to his criticisms, she knew it. She needed to apologize. What could she tell him? She wanted to send him a message. She felt unable to admit her weaknesses in front of him, but with her phone, it should be easier…

She walked out of the shopping center, her phone still on hand, and not a single word written. She didn't want to apologize in a text message. It wasn't personal, and she wanted Matt to know she was sorry. But she didn't want to take all the blame, because it wasn't entirely her fault. She wanted to calm down and then, she heard a powerful gust of wind.

She looked up. In the sky, several clouds were spinning unnaturally quickly, an event which caught everyone's attention. Something was not right. She knew it. And then, in a flash, a dark figure descended from the vortex, and landed close enough that she heard a powerful stomp coming from the impact. It rose, and her fears weren't unfounded. A large humanoid, taller than the tallest of humans but not a giant, covered in dark fur and with the appearance of a ram revealed its leathery bat wings, and the Dark Digimon looked at the crowd.

Nobody moved for a few seconds, until a little girl screamed. Many others followed, and then chaos ensued. People ran left and right, but always away from the demon, who started walking, ignoring the humans that surrounded him. Sora was paralyzed. What was that thing doing in the Real World? The ram made a sound never meant to be heard by humans that sent shivers down her spine, and then moved faster than lightning in order to grab a young girl, whose age had to be close to that of Kari and T.K., but seemed an infant in the grip of the monster.

She screamed and kicked, but the monster didn't let her go. He looked at her with his small, golden eyes, but didn't do anything. No one stood to help the girl. Everyone ran away. There was no anonymous hero. No one revealed a Digimon of their own. They left her at her mercy. Very few people remained, and they were all too terrified to even move. If only she had Biyomon… if she was with Biyomon, she could take down that thing. But without her… No, she couldn't let that creature go. She wasn't going to turn her back to someone who needed it.

The girl kept crying but the monster didn't move. He wasn't even looking at Sora. She hit it on the head with all her strength using the bag, the only thing she had. It didn't even react, but while she insulted herself for not coming up with anything better, it looked at her.

"Reckless", its voice was deep and powerful, and didn't come out of its mouth, but from the inside of her head.

"Let her go, you goat freak… or else"

"Else"

She had never experienced so much pain. An enormous hand, perfectly capable of holding her entire head, held her over the ground. She couldn't scream nor see, and her legs couldn't kick. It could break her skull if he wanted to, but even though she was feeling it, it didn't happen. Her hands couldn't do anything to prevent it. She couldn't breathe. He grabbed her Digivice.

"Biyomon, if you can hear me… I need you"

She felt something on her hand, something coming out of the Digivice. She was having trouble to hold it, but then she slammed it against the monster's hand. He released her immediately, and howled in otherworldly pain. She fell to the ground, and heard the girl falling, as well. Her eyes could see again, and she didn't asphyxiate.

"That's… a Digivice?"

Those words could only come out of the girl's mouth. But effectively, Sora's Digivice emitted light. The demon still screamed, and held his left hand, from which a dark smoke was coming out.

"Stay behind me"

Sora stood up, and the girl obeyed. Sora pointed his Digivice towards the Digimon. It didn't stop shining, but at that distance, it had no effect on the monster. When it calmed down, it looked at her.

"You… This was a possibility, but I did not expect someone like you to stand up to me"

"I will. You are wrong if you think you're the worst I've faced"

"I don't doubt that"

She didn't like how he looked at her. He started walking towards her, even though she still had her Digivice.

"If you get any closer, I will burn your face this time. Go away!"

It didn't stop. He didn't look like someone who could be so easily threatened, but she could almost believe it when she said it out loud. At the very least, she needed to keep the girl safe.

"Where are your partners? They're not going to protect you?"

The girl gasped. Sora didn't care.

"I don't need anyone to make an oversized sheep run away"

"You've got guts. I'm sure my lord shall appreciate this little gift"

It got too close. Sora jumped at it, trying to use it against the creature, but she wasn't even close. It was much faster than she could even react, and it slapped her Digivice away. When she noticed, she only had a moment before it flapped its wings, and that was enough to make her fall on her back.

"Run!"

But the girl was paralyzed. The thing laughed. But it wasn't seeing something Sora did. She stood up and went running towards the girl. As expected, the monster only mocked her.

"That's not going to save her. And it's not going to save you either"

It attempted to walk again, but then, an enormous being tackled it. Much more massive than the demon, a red beetle Digimon used its enormous horn to make it disappear under the very ground. A pale, thin, redheaded boy jumped out of it, carrying a laptop with him, and a purple Digivice.

"Izzy?!"

"Run! Sora?"

She didn't see Izzy in… she couldn't even remember. But she had never been happier to see him. Izzy ran towards them, and she recovered her Digivice, while MegaKabuterimon struggled to keep his enemy under him.

"Izzy, what are you doing here?"

"There's not a single Digital Gate in this world I wouldn't see coming. Especially this one"

"I don't think I've ever liked either of you more than right now. What's that thing?"

Izzy had his laptop prepared. Just like old times.

"Mephistomon. Ultimate Level, Evil Digimon. This Fallen Angel uses his unholy power to unleash an attack known as…"

"Dark Cloud!"

A massive smog came from under MegaKabuterimon, and Mephistomon flew straight up, away from the fearsome beetle. The demon's mouth overflowed with dark energy, and fired several shots at Izzy's partner, each of it creating a black explosion.

"Izzy, we need to hide! Follow me!"

She wasn't sure Izzy was following her, but the priority was keeping the girl safe. Mephistomon's attacks didn't just reach MegaKabuterimon, but a large part of the street was affected. Thankfully, Izzy was right beside the two of them.

"Do you think he's…?"

"MegaKabuterimon is much stronger than that. Attack!"

MegaKabuterimon rose out of the darkness, flying much faster than its enormous size would lead one to believe. But Sora knew him perfectly. Mephistomon was doomed.

Izzy's partner used its four long arms to slash the demon. It was faster, but even then it only barely dodged them. When it got close enough to its head, Mephistomon released its Dark Cloud again, before shooting more dark energy point blank. Its long arms were surrounded by a purple light when it hit their friend, and made it fall to the ground. Then, it shot more dark energy.

"Izzy, he's in danger!"

Izzy didn't reply. He had such an enigmatic face… She couldn't tell what he was thinking. Mephistomon flew straight to the immobile Digimon, completely surrounded in purple light and it roared again before it slammed his fist against his exoskeleton.

But the attack had no effect. The Demon Digimon had attacked the most resistant part of the beetle Digimon, and as a result, it was completely unscratched.

"Now!"

"Horn Blaster!"

MegaKabuterimon's enormous horn sparked. Mephistomon only had a brief moment to scream, before the powerful blast of lightning sent it flying, far away, far above the buildings, before exploding. Sora wished with all her heart that would be it, but Mephistomon hadn't disappeared. Its entire body was damaged and it seemed to have trouble to keep flying. It was impossible to tell the head apart from the body, but she could've sworn he looked at her. And then, the Demon Digimon flew towards the vortex that had brought it to the world, and both of them disappeared.

Izzy ran towards Motimon, who was but a tiny spot where the gigantic MegaKabuterimon had been standing a few seconds ago. She had so much to ask him. But it was more important to know more about the girl.

She was sure she had seen her before.


	8. Ken (I)

He was sitting, near the shore, breathing heavily, while Wormmon comforted him. Waves kept resonating, but there was no other sound coming from the Ocean. No seagulls, no wind, no murmurs coming from people, nothing. He felt heavier, his mind was assaulted with dark thoughts. He hadn't been there since… back when he was Digimon Emperor. He didn't remember well that time. He had a lot of trouble to remember the past, particularly any of the times he travelled to another world. His Digivice turned into the first D-3 when he submerged it in the Dark Ocean, but did he see Dragomon? Couldn't know. And what about that first time he went to the Digital World? He only remembered meeting Wormmon, and that's what Wormmon could remember, too. But there was something else…

"No trace of Kari or Dragomon. Or Daemon, for that matter"

T.K., Davis and Tai were closer to the shore. They didn't seem to share his problems when standing near the sea.

"If this place is as big as any of the two worlds, they could be very far away" said Tai.

"No problem. We'll use Imperialdramon and search. He's so fast, we'll find Kari in just a couple of hours. Then back to our world!"

"Not sure that's the best option, Davis. We could potentially end up fighting two powerful enemies at once, and turning into Imperialdramon could get both Veemon and Wormmon too tired to fight"

"Don't worry. We'll search for her, and still kick ass when we have to!" suggested Veemon.

"The first thing we have to know… is where we are. Is this an island? A continent? Just how big is the Sea?"

"Right. T.K., Patamon, go to the top of that mountain and investigate. Ken!"

Ken looked up. First time anyone addressed him since they had arrived.

"You've been here before. What do you know about the Sea?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know, Tai. This place… I can barely remember anything. I… I don't even know how I could get here in the first place"

"Shit… Alright. T.K., Patamon, go now. The more we know, the better. Agumon, can you feel anything? Evil Digimon or something?"

"I can't… this whole place seems weird There's something that's just not right".

Tai didn't know what to do. Ken had never seen him like that. Even in his worst times, Tai had always been the leader of the DigiDestined. He was back in their original adventure, and when he joined Davis and the others everyone considered him a legend. But he risked losing his sister… Ken knew perfectly how that was.

They were alone for a few minutes. T.K. and Pegasusmon went to explore the mountaintop, whereas Davis refused to stay still and did the same with Raidramon. Tai and Agumon were looking at the Sea. The Dark Ocean had terrible effects on Kari, Yolei and himself. Maybe Tai was feeling depressed, as well?

"Wormmon… do you think I should go talk to Tai?" he didn't want to interfere. His relationship with Tai had been mostly through Davis and Kari, he hadn't spent that much time with him.

"I'm sure you can make him feel better, Ken"

He stood up and started walking towards him, slowly. What could he tell him? "I know what it's like to lose a brother and I don't want you to feel the same?" He didn't want to worry him even more. But what could he say, then? And why did he keep walking?

"Tai!"

Tai looked to T.K., who was riding Pegasusmon towards them.

"This is a very small island, Tai. No way Kari is hidden here. Where's Davis?"

"Exploring, just in case. Could you see any other island? Anything?"

"No. It was just… dark waters everywhere"

"We couldn't see anything flying, even from far away" added Pegasusmon.

"Shit… Imperialdramon might be our only choice. But what if we need him to fight?"

"And what if we're wrong and she's not here after all?"

He had to say something. But what? What could he tell Tai or T.K. about Kari's safety. They were counting on him. He was the only one who could go to the Dark Ocean. And without Imperialdramon, was he useless?

Tai and T.K. kept discussing. They wanted to search for new islands, or go back to the Real World and look somewhere else.

"What do you think, Ken?"

"Wormmon, I…"

He looked at his D-3. The Dark Ocean had turned it into it, gave it new powers. He tried to focus on their objective. He knew Digivices had enormous power, so much it was capable of holding VenomMyotismon, Apocalymon, and summon Azulongmon. It had been capable of giving enough power to Imperialdramon to destroy MaloMyotismon once and for all. And Digivolving, and opening Digital Gates. If his D-3 was capable of blocking all other Digivices, and could open gates to different worlds, it should be capable of finding Kari. The last time he submerged it, it became much more powerful. Maybe…

"Wormmon, I have to do something wildly irresponsible. Stay alert"

"I will!"

T.K. and Tai didn't notice when he walked past them towards the black waters. Looking at them he remembered the death of his brother. His time as the Emperor. All those children kidnapped.

"This is your biggest tool, right? Fear, sadness. You won't beat me again. I am stronger than you"

He stepped into the waters. Maybe he expected something different, but there was no difference from normal water. They weren't particularly hot, or cold, and outside the color, it was exactly like walking into the water of any other beach. The only reason it felt off was that he was wearing clothes.

He could hear four voices behind him asking questions, only to hear the voice of Wormmon calming them down. He looked at his D-3. He was trembling.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore. You'll tell me what I want to know"

He couldn't lower his hand to make his D-3 one with the Ocean again. Kari was dead, just like Sam. And he should be dead, as well, for everything he had done to the Digital World could never be repaired. The D-3 he was holding didn't belong to him. He would bring death to his friends. He grabbed the D-3 and dived into the Ocean.

He couldn't breathe. He had his eyes open, but couldn't see. An enormous force was pushing him down, to the abyss. He didn't have his D-3 anymore. He was asphyxiating, not drowning. He screamed for help, but nothing came out of his mouth. A voice laughed in his head. It wasn't his. He had heard that voice, long ago, but couldn't remember when. The back of his neck hurt more than ever, as if a hot knife was piercing him. And then, under him, he saw something. He couldn't describe it. It was enormous, but it didn't seem physical. His mind couldn't take it. But he heard someone. Purple light came out of the gigantic thing, and then, he saw her, perfectly.

Then he saw Davis and Wormmon. He could breathe again. He opened his mouth and black water poured out of it. He felt ill, but the pain was gone. Even though many voices were talking to him, he couldn't distinguish them. He was grabbing his D-3 with both hands. It had been there the whole time. But it hadn't changed.

"I saw her! I saw her!"

He had to tell them. Davis, Tai, T.K. They all had to know.

"Ken, look"

He spewed more black water, and looked at the Ocean, where Wormmon was pointing. The Sea was unchanged, except for a single detail. From the point Ken had almost drowned, to the horizon, water was shaking. Not to the sides, creating an unnatural line.

"What's… what's that?"

"A path"

"And… where does it lead?"

"To light"


	9. Yolei (I)

"Double Star!"

"Feather Flare!"

The two of them were way too fast. Yolei only saw them when they stopped moving. Before that, it was merely a fight between a black blur and a green lightning.

Shurimon breathed heavily, with trouble. Karatenmon was fine.

"Do you give up?"

"Someone is too proud of having Digivolved"

Karatenmon was humanoid, although his body was completely covered in black feathers and had both wings and a beak. It was evil-looking, for sure, but not an enemy. No. This Karatenmon was a Ninjamon, and old enemy of Shurimon, who had frequently challenged his claim of being the most powerful Ninja Master. After its first defeats, Ninjamon found more of his species and trained, sometimes with help from her partner. It stopped being a bitter rivalry a long time ago. Shurimon had never had a hard time beating him.

Two enormous shurikens flew straight to the enemy, but Karatenmon was incredibly fast, and when it looked like he had been hit, he was right next to Shurimon, hitting him with his swords. Shurimon blocked, but there was an obvious difference in power. Karatenmon had recently digivolved, and even though Shurimon had constantly proved itself to be the strongest Armor level of all, an Ultimate Digimon was too much for him.

Shurimon disappeared behind a sea of leaves, but Karatenmon didn't panic. It wasn't the first time he had seen that trick. With blinding speed, he turned around and threw his sword, seemingly nowhere, until Shurimon reappeared, right on time to take the hit. He fell to the ground and crouched, seemingly in pain. Karatenmon flew straight to him, wielding his other sword with both hands.

"Shurimon, now!"

They had practiced. Shurimon used his feet to propel himself away from the enemy right as the sword threatened him, and one of the shuriken that composed his hands impacted Karatenmon's head. The Ultimate was shocked at her Digimon's speed, but it was his own fault. The Digimon without partner were like that, once they Digivolved.

Karatenmon attacked again, relentless. Shurimon had already had problems to keep up, but now, with the sword on his shoulder, it seemed obvious the fight was over. The fight had attracted a lot of attention. Several Rookie and Champion Digimon were observing, some of them the Ninjamon that had been trained by both fighters. They were cheering for her rival. After all, they were used to see her and Shurimon winning.

"Well, good luck with that. We aren't going to start losing yet. Shurimon, that sword… it's his. If you hit him with it…"

"Understood"

She had so much experience fighting alongside her partner, the two of them could hold conversations merely with a look. Karatenmon used all his strength in a single attack, and Shurimon managed to dodge it simply getting a scratch in his lower half. Karatenmon's speed was more than enough to catch up, however, and hit Shurimon again, this time avoiding the loss by protecting with his shurikens. The impact made her partner crash against the ground. Karatenmon jumped to attack again, but by propelling himself once more, Shurimon dodged and got right behind the enemy. Swiftly, he grabbed the sword that had been stuck on his shoulder and stabbed Karatenmon in the back. Karatenmon yelled, and tried to defend himself, but Shurimon had disappeared again.

"Double Star!"

When Karatenmon realized where he was, it was too late. The giant shuriken hit the hilt of the sword and wounded him even more, making Karatenmon fall down to his knees. When he looked up, Shurimon fought to stand up, but looked determined.

"Fine, fine! I give up! You won!"

The audience cheered, anyways.

Yolei and Hawkmon decided to stay in the Digital World for a bit longer. This town was small, but well protected, and everyone seemed peaceful. A couple of Digimon even claimed to be partners of DigiDestined from different parts of the world. Karatenmon was surprisingly nice, and the squad of Ninjamon that acted as his bodyguards wanted to hear more about Hawkmon and his unmatched win streak. She had eaten with her family before they attended their scheduled challenge, but she wasn't going to turn down some free food and the possibility of bragging about her partner.

"They say you won the Grand Flying Race of the Eastern Continent"

"Yeah. We've already won twice. Once as Halsemon, and another one as Aquilamon. It was easy, to be honest. Digimons without a partner really couldn't do much, and most of them with a partner haven't really trained as hard as we have!"

"Well, Yolei, there was this kid… what was his name? The boy with the Airdramon"

"Oh, yeah. The Argentinian. I don't remember his name… yeah that Airdramon was tough to beat. But nothing is faster than Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"And how many times have you beaten the Sensei now?"

"Seven"

"Six!" Karatenmon acted as if that made any difference

"Well excuse me for thinking ahead, Ninjamon. I meant we'll have beaten you seven times in a few months"

"It's Karatenmon!"

"You'll have to forgive her, Karatenmon. She never remembers the name of losers"

They had a lot of fun teasing him back when he was Ninjamon. It had been a lot of times already, and he still fell for it. Sure, he was much stronger now so they probably shouldn't, but they got along.

"I heard you defeated that monster, too… Megadramon"

"Absolutely"

"Hey, wait a second! I was there and you didn't beat him! You had to fuse with another Digimon to do it!" said an Elecmon

"More like that Digimon helped us a little"

That fight had been the most brutal in the last year. An enormous Megadramon started to wreak havoc among several parts of the Digital World, and it was Silphymon who eventually defeated him. That day… Kari, Ken and Cody were there. There were other humans, but she didn't know any of them. It was a hard fought battle, but it could've been much worse. No one lost their partners, and the Megadramon stopped his rampage without needing to kill him.

"If only all fights were like that…"

"Uh… what do you mean?" asked a Ninjamon.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing… Just thinking out loud"

She didn't really want to talk about it. Especially considering some of those Digimon could have partners. Back when the government didn't have measures against the Digimon… before some stranded Digimon attacked innocent people, and before the partners of some DigiDestined died in order to stop them. It was very uncomfortable to even think about it. At least the possibility of that happening again was next to zero.

"Not all fights are like this one. Let's leave it at that" replied Hawkmon for her.

"Anyways, boys! It's getting late. I think we should leave, now"

The Rookies complained. They liked hearing stories. Ever since she became a DigiDestined, more than four years ago, she had travelled almost all over the Digital World, and everywhere, the Rookies loved to hear her talk about how she found a Digi-Egg, how she saved all worlds… The ones that didn't have a partner couldn't believe someone could've gone through all that. Those with a partner had only lived in a time of relative peace. Even the worst wild Digimon hadn't done anything resembling what Myotismon, or Digimon Emperor had done in the past. Enormous fights between Mega Digimon all over both worlds seemed like an impossible idea to most of them. Some of them were so young they weren't even alive when MaloMyotismon was defeated.

Yolei and Hawkmon walked away from the village, not without some last menacing words from Karatenmon.

"That was a toughie. That stab… had me worried"

"Oh, no need to, Yolei. You know I've gone through much worse than that. And I've been training hard. You'll see. By the time Karatenmon wants another rematch, I'll be strong enough to beat an Ultimate by myself"

"We've become very strong. That's true. We have to. People expect that from us!"

"Oh I know. But well, it does come with the territory of being heroes"

Heroes. Yeah. They were heroes. Many of her friends didn't like to use that word, but that's what they were. If it hadn't been for them, the two Worlds would've been destroyed, or taken over.

"Heroes… remember back when we were? Every day, we'd come in here, and we'd free an area from the Emperor's control, or destroy one of those artificial monsters. We've gone a long way since then"

"I'd say we still are, Yolei. We might not need to fight an evil Digimon every week, but we have built a lasting peace between two worlds. That's not easy"

"Guess you're right"

"You sound disappointed, Yolei. Do you miss those days?"

"It's… complicated. On the one hand, I miss them. I liked saving the world, sue me. On the other hand, I know now that it's not that simple. If the world needs to be saved, there are people in danger. Innocents are hurt"

"And we can enjoy the best of both worlds with no problems!"

"Yeah. And hey, we're beating everyone who challenges us. We're the best team there is! All the past… it's not something I wanna repeat. Never look back, or you'll never go forward!"

"That's the spirit. And you know, there's still a lot of things we haven't done in the Digital World! We have a lot of things to see! What do you say, Yolei?"

"We're gonna see them all, Hawkmon. This world thinks it knows all there is to know about us. Well, I show you, World! I'll prove you wrong!"

Hawkmon was right. There was no need for an adventure, when they had two worlds to enjoy. Thinking back, everything seemed better now than it had actually been. She wanted to have more fights like the one she had won today, not like the ones where she was genuinely terrified of losing Hawkmon. Those battles were over.


	10. TK (II)

"For… Tai, how long have we been flying already?"

"The hell do I know, Davis?"

Even though the both of them were on ExVeemon's arms, Tai and Davis were loud enough for everyone to hear, even though T.K. and Pegasusmon were ahead of them. Stingmon and Ken were leading, although he could probably hear the incessant fighting of Tai and Davis. In all fairness, they had been flying for an unrealistically long amount of time, although there was no way of seeing how much, as no electronic device worked. They kept following the strange trail caused by Ken's D-3, hoping it'd lead them anywhere. At least, they could still see it.

"Do you think we'll see land, T.K.?"

"Oh? We should… I mean… why not?"

"We haven't in a long time now"

"Kari has to be somewhere. There has to be an island."

"If you think so, so will I"

Pegasusmon meant nothing bad with that, but it was impossible not to think the worst. If Ken's D-3 had lead them there, that meant Kari was in the Dark Sea, at the very least… but she could be underwater. She could be dead.

"Hope, damn it, hope". He had to believe. It was his crest. Izzy's theory, Ken's D-3… It had to lead somewhere. Kari… finding her wasn't as important as knowing she was alright. The monsters from the Dark Sea had already kidnapped her in the past, they wanted her back… If any of them had dared to touch her, they'd destroy them. It would be unforgivable.

He was feeling hungry. Matt and his father would've eaten already… if everything had gone right he would've gone with Kari to eat somewhere. He'd crack a couple of unfunny jokes and she'd laugh anyways. Her laugh, her look, her touch… he needed her back. He was going to do anything. Even if he had to take on both Daemon and Dragomon, he'd get her back.

"Pegasusmon, we're going to save Kari no matter what, understood?"

"What do you mean?"

"We aren't going to hesitate. If anyone stands in our way, we can't have second thoughts. Anyone who has done this doesn't deserve any mercy"

"Don't worry, T.K. I'll save Kari and Gatomon no matter what. If any Dark Digimon wants to face me, I'll make him regret it"

Ever since Patamon was taken away from him, he had never forgiven the powers of Darkness. He wasn't going to let them take Kari too.

The wait was unbearable. He was hungry and tired, but couldn't eat nor fall asleep. He was terrified of losing Kari forever, but this was their best option, and it wasn't leading them anywhere. And they still hadn't seen any other island. Davis kept complaining out of frustration, and Tai was angry. Ken remained silent. What had he seen that had shocked him so much? Everything that had happened to him… no one should have to go through that.

"T.K. … We're not going to be able to keep doing this for long. I'm getting exhausted. ExVeemon and Stingmon can't be much better. This is getting us nowhere"

"We can't go back now"

"T.K…. forcing us to do more than what we can won't bring Kari back"

"Pegasusmon what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about"

"But… Pegasusmon…"

"I know what you're going through… but you have to understand we all miss Kari. It won't help her if we get ourselves killed just to find her"

"What then, Pegasusmon? What do we do? Do we go back? Do we return to the Real World? There's only one way to solve this and it's going forward!"

He could notice a few tears. Both of them were right. But if they went back… they were just giving whoever had Kari more time. The mental image made him sick. Pegasusmon didn't reply. It wasn't an argument any of them wanted to have. He simply rested his head against his, and hoped for everything to get better.

The stress made it impossible to sleep. The Dark Sea was a terrible place. Everything was grey, everything was always the same. It was impossible to tell how much time passed, and the monotony of it all only made it worse. Tai and Davis weren't being noisy, for once, but now it was Agumon, who was saying he was complaining about being hungry.

He almost felt like puking once he focused on the sea. The complete lack of wind or sealife made it a terribly boring sight. At least, looking at Stingmon he could see his wings moving.

He remembered talking with Kari a bit about her experience in the Dark Sea. She told him that its biggest weapon was its effect on your mind. He had seen her despaired when he first saw her on it. And the way Ken had freaked out… maybe the Dark Sea was affecting him by boring him to death, as all his worries were completely natural. As for Tai… he probably was the same. It was just making Davis louder.

Even more time passed, following their only clue, but it was leading them nowhere. His entire body felt sore, due to having spent… a terribly long amount of time on Pegasusmon's back. He was hungry and needed to drink something. They should've picked something to eat. If he knew it would've taken so long… He was still wearing custom made pants and shirt. He felt ridiculous. They weren't even good clothes just… expensive for the sake of expensive. And they were definitely not meant to be worn for that long, to sleep with them, and least of all to ride a winged horse for what seemed like days already. The sleeves were definitely off. They were way too tight except at the wrist, and it had some awful patterns. What the hell was he thinking about?

"Kari, of course"

He thought it'd impress her. She'd see he cared about her by seeing just how important a mundane event like her eating at her father's was. Maybe she'd think of him like a clown. When she entered though the door, he could use a funny line to make her laugh. That'd be funny… Why was he thinking about that again? That dinner didn't matter at all.

"T.K., what are you thinking about?"

"Oh… nothing"

"Why do you lie to me? You're still awful at lying. Always have, always will be"

"That's very rude"

"Come on. It'll help you to speak out loud"

"Fine… I was thinking about what I'd have told Kari when she got home"

"Aw, that's sweet"

"Heh… It's also pointless"

"You could use that line when you rescue her, ironically. Something like "Wow, you are very late!""

"No… I was thinking something more related to my clothes"

"Oh… I got one! "Sorry""

T.K. chuckled. Pegasusmon was still Patamon. That wouldn't change.

"I think I'll go for something simple. "Sorry I was late. I was working as a clown"

The two of them laughed. It was good to do it. To get rid of terrible images, even if just for a bit. Then, Pegasusmon stopped. Stingmon and Ken weren't moving anymore.

"Ken?"

"There"

He pointed to the horizon. There, finally, they saw an island.

"Let's go, Pegasusmon. Let's go save Kari. Once and for all"


	11. Sora (II)

Izzy's adoptive parents had remained very sweet. Kind of surprising, considering how their son had turned out… He wasn't a bad boy, but his obsession with computers had made him cut contact with just about everyone, including her. The first thing he did when they arrived was going to some chat because he had to tell someone something. But she wasn't going to be angry at him. If it wasn't for that, Mephistomon would've caught her and Noriko. Motimon, at least, remained friendly.

Noriko Kawada was one of the children kidnapped by Oikawa four years ago. She remembered her. She was implanted with a Dark Spore, and unlike the other children she developed a Dark Flower before they went to Myotismon's Dream Realm. She was given a Digimon partner shortly afterwards, a Punimon who developed into an Elecmon. Unlike many of the new generation of DigiDestined, she chose to remain away from all the fighting and kept her partner on the Digital World, visiting him once in a while thanks to her D-3. She was a good student and seemed to be a perfectly normal kid.

But Izzy wasn't so sure. He had been very cryptic about what had just happened until they arrived to his house. He insisted it couldn't have possibly been a coincidence that Mephistomon attacked her. He told her about Daemon, the Dark Ocean, and the group that went there for Kari. He used needlessly long words and cited a bunch of nonsense on his monitor to make his point.

"So… it's the Dark Ocean's fault?"

"What? No, of course not. Do you not see it?"

"All I'm seeing is that a demon Digimon attacked the Real World. You say he attacked her in particular, why? Because she has a D-3?"

"I'm almost completely sure that demon is related somehow to Daemon. Noriko had a Dark Spore, and Daemon was after them!"

"That was four years ago. Why now?"

"I'm still not sure. I think I'll find out for sure in a couple of hours. This is very urgent. The Gate Mephistomon opened matched perfectly with the anomaly of the Digital World"

"Izzy, what the hell does that "anomaly" have to do with anything? Isn't that how Gates work? They're not common"

Izzy was musing something while he smashed his keyboard at blinding speed. It looked like he hadn't even listened to her. Motimon hit Izzy on the back of the head.

"Motimon, what's wrong with you?!"

"Sora was asking you something!"

"What? Ah, yes. Sora, the Digital World was affected by something that wasn't from it, and when that gate opened, that something was here, as well, stabilized"

"So Mephistomon isn't part of the Digital World? That makes no sense"

"Let me try to explain it… Let's see"

Izzy looked behind a pile of junk. It was hard to believe anyone had cleaned that room in the last year. The floor had visibly had an energy drink spilled on it not long ago, there were clothes everywhere and it didn't smell particularly well. Izzy… what had happened to you?"

"Here!"

He showed her a blackboard, and he immediately started scribbling on it. He drew two circles, one right next to the other.

"These are the Real World and the Digital World. They're two parallel realities. There's only a small intersection between the two that can cause rifts, or as we call them, Gates. Sometimes, this can be altered, and that's when problems occur"

"You're talking about our first adventure. But what does that have to do with anything, Izzy? Why are you telling me this?"

"We'll get there. The Digital World's presence in ours is very subtle most of the time, but it's always there. That's what my surveillance system is for. It gives me precise information regarding what's happening to that intersection, which is why I know exactly when and where any Digital Gates occur, no matter the reason. It also gives me more general information about the entirety of the Digital World, which I still cannot read perfectly, but helps in a lot of my investigations. Now, the Dark Ocean"

Izzy drew a third circle that also touched both worlds on a single point. Then, he drew several others, in a similar manner.

"We know there are many different parallel worlds, but they seem to be closer to the Digital World than our own, for some reason. The Dark Ocean or that Dream World MaloMyotismon used four years ago, are some examples, but I can venture to say they're not the only ones"

"So…?"

"We were blind before! Of course there are problems between the other worlds as well, that can make two worlds cross over, much like the Digital World and ours. And that's exactly what happened between the Digital World and the Dark Ocean. Something strange happened, an anomaly. A connection between the two"

"And… Mephistomon…?"

"He came out of a Gate that had the same reading as the anomaly. They're two related events"

"So… Mephistomon came out of the Dark Ocean? What was he doing there?"

"Not Mephistomon. Daemon. Daemon somehow got out of the Dark Ocean to the Digital World. And I'm sure Kari's disappearance has something to do with it"

"He is the anomaly?"

Izzy pointed at a long list of numbers in his monitor. Sora didn't understand any.

"And… what am I looking at?"

"The anomaly has slowed down considerably. It changes in a much slower pace than it used to. But whatever caused it, it's the same thing that caused our Gate today"

"Why did it slow down?"

"You'll have to forgive me… I'm already making some hypothesis, and I don't know if…"

"Izzy can you please tell me what's going on?! You're not making any sense and you're…" her voice sounded angry. Maybe she was.

"I can only assume… when Daemon left the Dark Ocean, that tear between worlds manifested as the anomaly. But it didn't disappear right away. Not because the "gate" remained open, no. I think the Digital World was reacting to his strange influence, caused from all the energy of the Dark Ocean. When he opened another gate to a different world, that energy of his was used, and as such, it no longer is in the Digital World, but left a mark in the Real World. Or, in other worlds, when Daemon opened a gate between the two worlds, the influence of the Dark Ocean was gone, but easily readable on both worlds it affected"

Sora's head hurt. But she understood what Izzy meant.

"So… you can no longer predict when Daemon is going to open a Gate?"

"Not when he personally does it, but I'll know when a gate opens"

"Izzy… do you realize how dangerous this is if Daemon is back? We… we have to tell everyone! And get ready! And… why did he go after Noriko?"

"The Dark Spore, clearly. I don't know why. We… we don't even know what the Dark Spores are. But I'll know everything soon enough"

"How?"

"I'm going to the Digital World. Yolei is there and she's going to open a Gate for me. We'll go talk to Azulongmon and find out what's going on, and more importantly, what's going to happen"

Impressive. For all his faults… Izzy never stopped being a good person.

"Izzy… what do we do with Noriko? We have to protect her. If Daemon sends someone else… or worse, comes here himself…"

"That's the part I didn't tell you. Yolei is bringing Biyomon, Gabumon, Gomamon and Armadillomon here. Can I trust you'll…"

"I'll make sure Joe and Cody know everything"

"And Matt"

"Yes, and Matt"

"But you're right. You have to protect Noriko. I don't even know what Daemon is after. But I know it's not good. I'm sure Mephistomon isn't the worst he'll send"

"Why did we leave her alone, then? What if someone attacks her now?"

"Relax. We know that didn't happen, no Gate has been opened since Mephistomon's. I didn't want to tell her she was in danger because I didn't want to worry her for something I still don't know for sure"

"That's… not something I'd expect from you"

"What? No teenager deserves to know a demon is after them. Besides, I'm pretty sure Daemon won't go after her again. She wasn't the only one infected, don't you remember? He could go after any of the children… teenagers who were"

"How are we supposed to protect them, then?"

"We'll have to wait. We don't know how Daemon found out where she was at that exact point, but we'll know. Right now, all we can do is wait, and hope Azulongmon tells us more"

"Can I go with you?"

"Yolei is coming with me. You have to tell everyone, remember? You have to make sure nothing goes wrong"

"…I will. You can trust me"

"I do. That's why I told you everything"

"Izzy… can I tell you something, as friends?"

"Yeah?"

"You really need to learn how to shave better"

He laughed. It was the first time they had seen in months, and she couldn't even remember the last time they were together alone. She wished it had taken something less serious for it to happen. She wanted him to be less nervous. She was terrified of everything that was to come, everything that could go wrong, but Izzy couldn't be.

"You know… I think I might be able to set this up to send you a message if someone opens a Digital Gate. Not a natural one, nor one opened from a D-3… It wouldn't be foolproof, and I can't test it… but it could help"

"Really? Do it!"

"I… I just can't guarantee it'll work. So a gate could be opened and you wouldn't know"

"That wouldn't change our current situation. And if I do get that message… well, I'll know for sure what to do. And when that happens, I will have Biyomon with me"

Izzy nodded, and started writing something in his computer. They were going to be ready. Mephistomon would appear again, but this time, she wouldn't be at his mercy. Never again.


	12. Mimi (II)

It was awfully early. Jeez, why the hell did they need to go so early? She was actually excited to go, so going early was a nice idea. She just liked to complain, she knew Michael would think about some way of solving their non-existent problems. Or he used to. He was catching up. Why did he have to be so smart? He was handsome and kind and sweet, it was unfair that he was smart as well. She liked that he was smart, however. Because Michael was with her.

She was concerned with someone discovering Betamon. Sure, before 2002, people could've easily believed he was some sort of plushie or stuffed animal, but nowadays, everyone knew what a Digimon was and Betamon was very noticeable. However, since they went so early, there were very few people on the streets (sober people, at any rate), and as such Betamon could even talk without getting much attention. He was sharing some anecdotes. Being capable of digivolving into Seadramon made him capable of exploring the most remote parts of the Digital World, and he had seen some impressive things as a result, such as a giant Shellmon so big he looked like an island. She had forgotten how much she loved the Digital World. For all its ups and downs, it was a great place. Even if she usually forgot when she was there.

After the initial dizziness from crossing the Gate, Mimi looked around. They were in a forest. Definitely not a forest like any that could be found in the Digital World. The colors, the shapes… there was no doubt. She was back.

"Awesome! Oh God I can't believe it!"

She ran towards the trees. No one could tell they were digital merely by touch, but to Mimi they were almost like family. She had slept so many times under the shadow of trees like that… That's something Michael would never experience. She had bought a cowboy hat for the occasion. It was red, not pink, and it wasn't anywhere near big enough, but she was simply struck by nostalgia.

"So where is Palmon?"

"There's a Locomon nearby, it won't take long"

"Locomon?"

"Ah, right, you haven't seen them. For the last couple of years, some Digimon started to build railways for the Locomon, who are very similar to trains in your world"

"Oh, really? Awesome!"

On the way to the station, she saw so many familiar faces. She didn't personally know any of those in particular, but she saw a Monochromon, a Monzaemon, and even a Kabuterimon in the distance. She saw many Rookie Digimon, but she didn't know their name. When they got there, there was Locomon. It looked like a normal steam locomotive, but had two big, human looking eyes.

"Hi, Locomon!"

"…Humans? I haven't seen any in a while. This is most unexpected"

"Not just any human! I am Mimi Tachikawa!"

The Locomon looked at her with utmost disinterest. She expected to be a bit better known. Its booming, deep voice didn't change at all.

"You'll have to forgive her, Locomon. She used to be a Princess here, you know?"

"Oh, really? Doesn't look very royal to me"

"What the hell are you saying!?"

"Come on, come on, no need to get angry! Locomon, where are you leaving?"

"Uh? Whenever I desire. I guess I could leave now. If a Queen so says…"

"Princess! Not queen"

Queen Mimi had a good ring to it. She had to go see the Gekomon. She had two days, after all. The three of them went inside. Besides them, there was only a single Digimon, a Guardromon, sleeping. Since when did machines sleep? She sat next to Michael, and rested her head on his strong shoulder. She gave her hat to Betamon, and it covered almost all of him.

"Hey!"

"Come on, Betamon, you look adorable"

"I'm no adorable… I'm a badass dangerous Digimon"

"You sure are"

She hugged Betamon, who tried and failed to keep his dignity intact. Michael laughed. When Betamon finally got away from her, she looked at him and thanked him. Then, she fell asleep.

"Mimi! Come on, lazy ass!"

She woke up suddenly. Locomon wasn't moving.

"Hey you big machine thing! Get going already!"

Michael laughed.

"We're already here! A certain someone fell asleep like a baby"

Well, of course. They woke up way too early.

"Can you blame me?"

"Nah, I understand. I might have slept a bit, too. You'll never know. So I prefer to tell you you're rude"

"Idiot"

He gave her a very quick kiss and jumped out of the train. She still hadn't fully woken up. Guardromon and Betamon weren't there. Her hat was on the ground. She had to tell Betamon something.

When she got out, it was another forest. But this one was different. It looked closer to a real forest. She stretched and looked around. She couldn't see anyone.

"Goodbye, princess"

"It's Queen! No, wait, you were right. Thanks for everything, Locomon!"

The big Digimon left, leaving her completely alone, with no sound but his own. Why did Michael have the habit of making her wait?

"Mimi!"

It couldn't be true. She looked inside the forest. It was hard to see everything, but there she was.

"Mimi!"

"Palmon!"

She ran towards her, and when they got close enough, Palmon jumped to her arms. She hugged her, as if they hadn't seen each other in a lifetime. It certainly felt like that. She even noticed a few tears. Michael and Betamon were there.

"Thank you, thank you. Thank you. How have you been, Palmon?"

"I've done so many things since I last saw you, Mimi! I lived with the Gekomon and Otamamon until one of them evolved into another ShogunGekomon. She keeps in check the older one and rule together. So I started travelling a lot. I saw Yolei and Aquilamon! And then I came here. Some Bug Digimon had threatened the forest so I offered to help. And I've been here ever since! Oh my, Mimi, you look gorgeous!"

"You too!"

"Don't lie! I haven't changed at all. But you have and you are incredible!"

"You always have been!"

They hugged again. She had missed her so much.

"Hey, Palmon. I don't want us to stay away for so long. Promise me we'll see each other more often"

"Mimi you know I'd love to but…"

"Even if I have to keep you hiding or I have to open Digital Gates by headbutting them! I don't care!"

"Aren't they cute together, Betamon?"

"I'd say so!"

It took some strength to walk away from Palmon, but she did. She kissed Michael, and then punched Betamon.

"You better learn to treat my hat better!"

"Why are you always so mean to me"

"Because when I'm not you complain! You're just like Michael!"

They all laughed.

"Well, where do we go now? I assume you've got a fancy house, Palmon"

"Not very fancy, no. But I did my best to keep it cute"

"We can go there first, if you want"

"Oh? You have another place planned?"

"Yeah. But we'll get there"

The forest was full of Digimon she had seen before. A Cherrymon acted as Palmon's butler, and two Blossomon seemed to watch over her house. It was on top of one of the biggest trees, and was no bigger than a room. Palmon had her taste when decorating, however.

"Where do you eat? This seems like it's just your bedroom"

"We all eat together. We're like a big family! You'll see later!"

Palmon had changed so much. She was a leader now. Mature, responsible, and respected. Her little sister had turned into her big one.

"Well, and this is just the beginning. Palmon and I found a beautiful lake, just outside the forest. It's quiet, it's calm, and it's perfect to camp there. You're gonna love it"

She grabbed Michael's arm, as they walked towards their next objective. They left a wall built inside the forest. Palmon's friends had built it after the last Bug attack, but apparently, their enemies had left the forest completely just a couple of weeks ago, making the place completely safe.

"It's weird, you know. Bug Digimon tend to be vicious and simple minded. When they get something on that head of them they keep at it until they succeed. But they left the forest, and we can live safely now"

"You know, Palmon, seems like you're forgetting about Tentomon and Wormmon"

"Yeah, you're right. Izzy is more of a Bug Digimon than either"

They laughed again, and reached the lake. It was enormous, crystalline, and clean and there was enough room for the four of them to set up a camp site, if so they wanted. But they weren't alone.

Before they went out of the woods there were two figures walking alongside the water, who didn't notice them. Both of them were a head taller than any human she had ever seen. One of them looked like a humanoid goat, with long horns and bat-like wings. His companion seemed entirely human, but was completely covered by a reddish cloak. He had two horns and two demon-like wings. The voice of the goat was deep and inhuman, but the voice of the "human" was terrifying. It was otherworldly deep and sinister, but extremely powerful.

"I swear it wasn't my fault, My Lord. I… I couldn't have predicted it!"

"I know. That's why you're still alive, Mephistomon"

Michael and Betamon had slowed down, but Mimi forced them to stop. Whoever they were, it was obvious it was best to leave them alone.

"We should go" she whispered

"Why?" he said, notably louder

"Look at them! I don't want to get into trouble with two demon digimon"

Their conversation didn't stop.

"They had Digivices. And an Ultimate Digimon"

"You had the bad luck of running into two Crest Bearers, Mephistomon. You weren't ready for such a challenge. The Brothers will be"

"I hope I didn't mean to fail my mission. I'll do whatever I can to prove my worth"

"This was an unexpected setback, but a minor one. I was well aware something could go wrong, and the master of the Dark Ocean will take care of my unique concern"

"I want to go back, My Lord. I want my revenge"

"You shall have it. When I say so"

Mephistomon kneeled before the other figure. What the hell were they walking about? Crest Bearers? Did they mean Tai and the others?

"Come on, Michael. Let's go"

"What are you talking about, Mimi? We have to do something. These guys are talking about attacking people!"

She had a very bad feeling about it all. They should've left.

"Mimi Tachikawa. The Crest Bearer of Sincerity. I would be honored if you joined our conversation"

Her heart froze. The voice came from Mephistomon's Lord. He was looking directly at their position. She was completely paralyzed.

"What… what are you talking about, My Lord?"

The Lord pointed his hand towards them, and a dozen trees surrounding them disappeared completely.

"You should know it's bad to spy on someone"

"Yeah? Well whatever you two were planning is bad as well! Let's go, Betamon!"

Michael's Digivice started to shine, as Betamon jumped into the lake and turned into Seadramon.

"I was not addressing you, worm"

"Mimi, let's go!"

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She knew it. Seadramon opened its mouth and large ice spikes came out of it, hitting the Lord, but leaving him completely unscratched.

"Mimi!"

She snapped, and Palmon digivolved into Togemon. She had seen Palmon just a little over an hour ago. She didn't want to fight. Why, why were those two right there, in that moment.

Togemon tried to use all her strength in a single punch, but the Lord stopped her with a single movement of his hand. Togemon couldn't overcome her enemy.

"Is this the best you can do?"

"No, of course not!"

Her Digivice turned green as Togemon digivolved into Lillymon. The flower fairy stood flying away from the two demons, looking at them. Mephistomon looked concerned, but it was impossible to tell what the Lord was thinking because of its cloak.

"Now, Lillymon!"

"Help her, Seadramon!"

"Flower Cannon!"

Lillymon's attack went straight to the Lord, as Seadramon's attack approached him from the back. He didn't even try to block, and when both hits connected, there was an explosion. Mephistomon covered his eyes from the dust, while Michael celebrated victory. Mimi just got more worried.

And the Lord was standing in place, without a single scratch. Michael couldn't believe it. Mimi could. The hand of the lord started burning.

"My turn?"

"Seadramon!"

Seadramon jumped towards the demon trying to bite him, or maybe even swallow him whole.

"Michael, Seadramon, no! Don't do that!"

She saw it coming. She saw it coming but couldn't prevent it. The demon held Seadramon's head, which was roughly the same size as he was, with both hands. Seadramon was in pain, and couldn't get rid of him.

"Lillymon! Save Seadramon! Now!"

Lillymon went flying towards the demon, who simply flapped his wings. An enormous amount of energy was released, and Lillymon was sent flying towards Michael and Mimi. She rushed towards her partner. She seemed to be relatively fine. Michael couldn't move from his place. He was terrified.

"You must learn your place"

Then, his hands crushed Seadramon's head with insulting ease. They only saw the result for a second, an unforgettable, nightmarish second, and Michael's partner disappeared, turning into nothing but data. Her heart stopped beating, and couldn't help but cry. Michael screamed like no one had ever screamed. He yelled his partner's name, and a lot other things no one could've understood. Michael started running towards the Lord, but Lillymon grabbed him by the waist, stopping him. Then, her partner held her in her other hand, and went away flying, getting nothing but a look from the two Demons in return. They didn't move, and they didn't say anything. Lillymon was flying faster than she ever had. She couldn't fully grasp what had just happened, and as she realized it, she started sweating and crying. Michael screamed and cried. And he only stopped once his voice gave up.


	13. Yolei (II)

Seeing Izzy and Sora together had been such a strange experience. It hadn't happened since… last year, maybe. Probably more. They all had already stopped talking regularly, but Yolei had actually seen both of them often. She had helped Izzy with his experiments sometimes, and she remained good friends with Sora.

Luckily, she didn't have much trouble to find everyone. Halsemon was so fast, they didn't take more than a couple of hours to get Gomamon, Gabumon, Armadillomon and Biyomon. She wouldn't have needed a lot of time to get Cody to meet up with his partner, but he told Sora to do that, instead. She was surprised he had asked her to go with him to meet Gennai and Azulongmon. In general, he preferred to do everything by himself, and only ever asked her when he couldn't do everything, or when it involved going to the Digital World in person. She'd have to ask him.

Kabuterimon was showing his lack of activity. He could barely keep up with Aquilamon, and they weren't even going that fast. At least, it seemed he was still very powerful. A Digimon battle in the Real World… hadn't seen one of those in a while. Luckily, MegaKabuterimon could defeat the demon Digimon. Since T.K., Kari and Ken were all gone, and she was in the Digital World, no one else could've stopped him. No one but them could digivolve their partners to Ultimate level. It was unlikely to begin with anyone else had a partner at the time.

They were reaching Gennai's house. For someone as important and close to Azulongmon, it was honestly underwhelming. One could assume he'd live in a big fancy castle, but it was a modest home with very little pointing to its importance. Maybe that helped. Almost all powerful Digimon did live in impressive, epic places, so choosing the complete opposite would make anything that could pose a threat look elsewhere. When they arrived, Gennai was waiting outside. Both Aquilamon and Kabuterimon went back to their previous form, and they were greeted by him. He had longer hair since the last time they met, but he hadn't aged a day. She remembered that picture the group showed her once, at the end of their original adventure. She was glad she had only met the younger, handsome version of him.

"Izzy, Yolei! I have to say, I didn't expect you two out of all people to arrive so late. Especially considering who was interested in talking to you"

"I'm sorry, Gennai. We came as quick as possible"

"Indeed. There were urgent matters. I didn't want to make him wait, but we had to make sure we didn't leave our world open for another attack. I'm sure Azulongmon will understand"

"He does. He's always been very reasonable. For a god, he's got a good temper"

"Well, it's what I'd expect from a god!" she added

"You've never met Zhuqiaomon, right, Yolei?"

She wanted to reply, but the sound of thunders silenced them. They looked to the sky in awe, as dark blue clouds covered the sky. She had seen this happening before, but she'd never get used to it. Gold light could be seen between the clouds and then, the most massive being she had ever seen appeared. The gigantic dragon covered the sky as far as she could see, his long beard giving him a royal look. Then, with his elderly, wise voice spoke to them.

"DigiDestined. I am glad you arrived"

She assumed Izzy would do the talking, but he seemed as impressed as she was, and didn't seem like he was going to start any time soon. Gennai was more used to him, but he was looking at them, expecting them to start talking. Luckily, Azulongmon continued.

"I am saddened this encounter had to happen, my friends, but darkness is in the horizon, and it threatens all worlds"

"So we were right? Daemon has returned?"

"Yes"

Izzy didn't seem very nervous. It was obvious he had never faced Daemon before. That allowed him to talk.

"I need to know, Azulongmon. About the Dark Ocean. About Daemon. I need to know what's going on"

Azulongmon seemed to breathe heavily. It was the first time he had ever done that.

"Dragomon… An old evil. More ancient than anything we've ever seen. It crafted a world for himself, for this one wasn't enough for him"

"What do you mean he crafted?"

"Dragomon created the Dark Ocean with his own power. How, it's something I have never understood. Nor any of the Sovereigns"

"Is he dangerous?"

"He is warped. Its mind, much like its body, wasn't fit for this world. No one understands what Dragomon might think, and he doesn't understand what we think. It's existed as a separate entity from our realm for longer than anyone, outside of the Sovereigns, could remember. You ask me if he's dangerous. The answer is that we don't know the extent of its powers of darkness. I can only imagine what could happen if he turns hostile"

That wasn't a good answer at all. She had been in the Dark Ocean before. She had experienced it. She felt like she could get crazy merely by being there, and that was something Dragomon created out of himself?

"What about Daemon? Who's him? Where does he come from?"

"Daemon, as he is, is a demon who, for years, has tried to get the support of many different demons all over the Digital World. We never felt him as a threat, and he never had enough power to threaten either world. But… his escape from the Dark Ocean might confirm something we feared. Something I feared: he is one of the Seven Demon Lords"

That couldn't be good.

"Long ago, before the Digital World was peaceful, our existence was dictated by the mindless pursuit of evolution. There was no civilization or organization. All Digimon looked only after themselves, because only digivolution was important. But then, seven Digimon, seven Digimon united their forces, and sunk the world into darkness. They were the Seven Demon Lords, whose powers had been fueled by the sins we all committed"

She was surprised. Izzy seemed shocked. And offended.

"Why had we never heard that before? Why? You never thought we deserved to know?"

"You hunger for knowledge, and I understand. The past of the Digital World is dark, and we've tried to get those times before us. The Seven Lords managed to do what no one else could but then, five of us, the most Digivolved of all Digimon, made a truce. We named ourselves Sovereigns, and led the remaining free Digimon against the Seven"

"Five?"

"We were five. I was the most powerful Digimon from the East. I joined forces with Baihumon, the White Tiger of the West, whose roar made the entire world tremble. Then, Ebonwumon, the Black Tortoise of the North went in our help. Finally, Zhuqiaomon of the South, the Vermilion Bird, caused fire to rain upon our enemies"

"And the fifth?"

"The most powerful of all Digimon. He who had evolved far beyond what any of us had ever dreamed of. He who lives in the Core of the Digital World. Fanglongmon, the Golden Dragon. The Sovereign of the Sovereigns"

This was the first time she heard that name. Izzy's wide eyes meant he shared her feelings.

"Fanglongmon used his immense power to seal the Seven in the Dark Area. A victory we might not have reached otherwise. Since then, he's slept in the Core, using his power to keep the Seal closed. We've had to lead the Digital World in his absence. But, I am afraid, one of these Demon Lords might have escaped. I am afraid, this Daemon has used his powers to prevent us from finding him. I don't know what this would mean, if true, nor what plans he has, but I do know, it shall be terrible. For all of us. When the Seven first attacked, we weren't aware of another world. Now we are. And he might have already tried to attack it"

One of Azulongmon's DigiCores descended, and landed on Gennai's hands. Izzy was trying to swallow all this new information that no one had ever told him.

"Take this DigiCore. Its power will help you protect your world. The power of the Sovereigns isn't what it used to be, but I'll try to use this to convince the rest of what could happen. I am deeply sorry, for everything"

The DigiCore in Gennai's hand started glowing, and blinded her for a moment. When she could open her eyes again, Azulongmon was gone.

"I feel… incredible!" said Hawkmon

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Like no evil Digimon will stand in my way"

"That's because it's true, Hawkmon. We aren't going to let that guy scare us"

Izzy didn't share her enthusiasm, even if Tentomon seemed happy as well.

"Gennai… why? Why did no one tell me? Why did no one tell me what was going on?"

"You're not the only one with doubts, Izzy. Azulongmon feared Daemon could be one of the Seven ever since he was sealed in the Dark Ocean. He didn't want to involve humans in this fight"

"Hey, Izzy, come on… We know now what we're up against. Knowledge is power, you always say that, right?"

"Yeah… I suppose you're right… But we just started knowing about him. What does Daemon know?"


	14. Sora (III)

It was awkward to walk around with not just one, but four Digimon. It was almost a parody. Biyomon and Gabumon were too big, and as much as she loved her partner, bright pink wasn't the best to keep a low profile. Armadillomon and Gomamon could be confused with dogs… maybe. From far away. If you weren't looking.

"I hate Izzy so much"

Going to the Digital World to talk to Azulongmon wasn't precisely a hard job. However, she needed to look for Cody and Joe in a Saturday walking around with four enormous Digimon. What did Joe even do with his free time? He barely had any. And she also needed to keep an eye on anything remotely suspicious, because, of course, evil Digimon were going to show up any minute now. Izzy would be with Azulongmon, and she had to somehow protect a dozen children from an enemy who could appear anywhere. Even if she didn't run into trouble with the authorities, she had better ways to spend her day.

She saw Biyomon much more often than other DigiDestined with their partners. She had set up a humble school to teach young Digimon how to fly, and she loved to see her. Biyomon always said she had learned from her, but the truth was that she reminded her of her mother. She was kind and caring, but Sora was selfish. Biyomon didn't like to hear her using those terms, so she had never brought it up again.

"Sora, if it's much trouble, I can get to Matt's house by myself"

Gabumon was too kind. Too nice. He had never taken well her fights with Matt, and it affected him way more than it should've. Now he was too meek when addressing her, it didn't feel natural. It was understandable, but they were supposed to be friends.

"No, Gabumon. It'd be wildly irresponsible to let you walk around by yourself. Don't worry"

Cody's home was the closest to Izzy's. It was impeccable to the point of being unnatural, making for a stark contrast. Cody was alone, but he was incredibly polite. Almost robot-like. She knew Cody was going through a hard period on his life. His grandfather had died, and he had never had the most friends. He had forced himself to become an adult years before he should've. He wanted to bake her something, but that felt like too much and had to decline.

"So Daemon is back"

"Izzy says so. We need to be prepared for the best"

"Even if you didn't want to worry her, you should've warned her it wasn't mere chance. You should've told her to be ready. She has a D-3. She could've gone to the Digital World and find her partner. She's vulnerable. You don't know Daemon"

"We've got a way to know when he does attack. We'll be ready. She'll be safe"

"How do you know? If what you're telling me is true, Izzy wouldn't have arrived on time to save her if you hadn't happened to be there. She's here not thanks to Izzy's computer, she's here because of a coincidence"

She didn't need someone telling her how she felt. She had done her part. She could leave. But she wasn't just going to leave like that.

"I know, Cody. But we can't do anything. And that's killing me. I can't stand it. I hate being this powerless. But we are. We can't do anything till Izzy gets back and tells us something."

Cody stood up. He was getting very tall, even if he was only a kid.

"I think you're wrong. I'm going to go look for those children with Joe. Being prepared and worried is better than being unaware of what's going on"

Was that the best option? It probably wasn't, but she couldn't come up with something better. She wasn't going to argue.

"How are you going to find them?"

"Assuming they haven't moved, I already know where they live. I saved all their addresses four years ago"

"Why?"

"Because I always knew something like this would happen"

That put an end to the argument. Cody didn't seem like the type who would care too much about what strangers on the street thought. And that way she only had to go to Matt's house.

She still had to go to Matt's house. Damn.

Cody only took about ten minutes to find the list. When she had to find a receipt from two weeks ago, she got absolutely crazy and had to give up after having her entire room put upside down.

And once again, she was on her own, just with Biyomon and Gabumon. What a cold encounter.

"Poor Cody…"

"Why do you say that, Sora?"

"He's going through terrible stuff. I hope Armadillomon realizes this and does his best to help. I would have said something myself but… I don't know what's going on with my head lately"

She knew. Perfectly. And Biyomon did, as well. If they didn't say it out loud, was just because of Gabumon. And she wasn't going to have much of a chance to keep dodging the issue. Either she faced her issues head on, or she ignored Matt and created newer ones.

"You're under a lot of stress. It's normal. A demon Digimon attacked you! If he ever shows up again, I'll kick him right back to the Dark Area"

"Of course we will"

Gabumon didn't say anything. He didn't say anything on the long way to Matt's house.

She had been there last night, but it still felt daunting to get inside. She was surprised by his reaction.

He hugged her, very tight, very close. It was as sincere as it could be.

"Why didn't you reply back? I thought the worst. I thought… I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. Don't do this to me ever again"

"Wha…?"

He kissed her like he hadn't in a long time. She could feel the excitement of Gabumon and Biyomon.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your last message said you were at Izzy's home after a Digimon had attacked you. That you were waiting for Gabumon and the rest to appear. And that's all. You didn't reply to any of my messages. I was terrified something had happened to you"

She hugged him back. It was comforting, in more than one way.

"I'm fine. I'm… fine. Thanks. Thank you"

They stood there, on the doorframe, until Matt finally relaxed and told them to come inside. Hearing Gabumon back to his normal self, even if only towards Matt, was great. Biyomon's eyes told her she wanted to talk, but they'd have to wait.

As expected, they hadn't moved a dish since the night. Matt and Hiroaki were both far too worried about T.K. to even think about it. It seemed like order and organization was something DigiDestined lost with age.

Matt barely listened to her conversation with Izzy. He seemed to grasp the basic concepts, and then ignore the rest. It was bothering her, but she didn't want to bring it up. They had been talking for ten minutes without saying anything sarcastic. She wasn't going to be the one to ruin it.

"Are you getting everything?"

"Yeah. T.K. left with Davis and Ken to the Dark Sea with Kari, and Daemon might be planning to do something with the Dark Spores. I thought the evil Digimon would have already given up on that"

"Obviously, they haven't"

"I noticed"

Relax, Sora. Relax.

"You don't sound worried"

"I am. I've already been incredibly worried. About T.K. About you"

"But…"

"The prospect of some evil Digimon attacking is nothing we haven't seen, and surpassed, before. Losing you two…"

"What about everyone else? If a Digimon attacks, do you realize what could happen?"

"I know perfectly. In case you forgot, Sora, I've been there, on the frontline, every time it has happened. That's why I know losing my sleep over whatever Daemon or DarkEvilmon or whoever is next do is pointless. I can only worry about what's going on, and what can we do to prevent it. Can we do anything to prevent this?"

"That's… not what I'd expect you to say"

"I said you can't compare how worried I was with how worried I am now. You are safe. Don't ask me to lose my head again just because the Demon Digimon have decided to go back to screw everything up! I can't take it anymore"

"Why do you always think the worst?"

"Why am I never good enough?"

She was standing up. When did she stand up?

"I… I am sorry. I don't… I don't want you to get worried for nothing. Biyomon, we're leaving"

"What? Sora, wait!"

"I'll talk to you later"

She left. She almost closed the door on Biyomon, but her partner was fast. She had to calm down. She needed to calm down. She was saying and acting in ways she didn't want to for stupid reasons.

"Sora… calm down. Please. Calm down. I can't see you like this"

She had been walking for a long time already. Didn't even notice when she left the building. Biyomon could barely keep up.

"Biyomon… I'm sorry. I don't know why…"

"Sora, just why? Why do you two fight for no reason?"

"I don't know, Biyomon. I… I don't even know"

Biyomon got closer to her and rested her head on her.

"Matt and you have very strong personalities. It's natural that you two clash"

"But why like this, Biyomon? I care about Matt. I really do. I hate this. We're going back to fighting for… everything. I don't even understand. I love him. And I know he loves me. That's why he sent me so many… I didn't get any message"

"What?"

"He said he had sent me many messages. But I didn't get any"

She checked her phone. It wasn't working. It had run out of battery. A frightening thought invaded her mind.

"Sora!"

She looked up after hearing Biyomon. The ground in front of her seemed to glow with purple energy.

"No. No. No. Why"

A tall, long limbed, leather clad figure emerged from the ground. It was humanoid, no doubt, but its slender arms and legs would prevent anyone from mistaking it with a human. It had two long horns, and huge tattered wings.

"It cannot be…"

"Well. Look who finds herself all alone. Finally"

"Devimon"

It wasn't the same Devimon she fought in the past. Its voice was colder, but higher pitched. The disgusting face, permanently stuck in a smirk of superiority.

"What are you doing here? Who the hell are you?"

"We're here for you"

"Come and get me. Let's go, Biyomon"

"Right!"

The light that saved her from Mephistomon made Biyomon evolve into Birdramon once again. Her partner was much more powerful than she was when she fought the first one… but was she powerful enough?

"Meteor Wing!"

The flames from Birdramon's wings should've burned Devimon, but the enemy was very fast, and used his death claw on Birdramon's neck. It was deadly accurate, and allowed him to hit her again. And again.

"Burn him!"

She felt an enormous energy, coming from her, and from her Digivice. It triggered Birdramon's Digivolution. She wasn't going to take any chances.

Garudamon was much larger, but that didn't mean anything. The first Devimon could grow in size. The level advantage would make the enemy think twice, but she had seen Angemon, his equal, fighting Ultimate Digimon without breaking a sweat.

Devimon fired a blast of dark energy, but Garudamon's blazing body absorbed the hit.

"Wing Blade!"

The fire was released, and this time the demon took the hit. He flew upwards, and landed on top of a building, looking down on her. She wasn't in the mood to take it.

"The human has spirit. Right, brother?"

A shadow flew from beneath the ground and punched Garudamon on the neck. Its wings then created a dark wave of energy that made her partner step back. The first Devimon kicked her on the back, and then, the two of them punched her once more, making her fall.

"Garudamon! Garudamon, rise!"

Garudamon had trouble to do so, but slowly, started to get up. She was damaged, but seemed eager to fight. In front of them, the two Devimon levitated. Identical. Not looking at her partner, but her.

"Crest Bearer of Love", said one of them.

"Sora Takenouchi", replied the other.

"The Night of Wrath is upon you"


	15. Ken (II)

Finally.

After such a long time, seeing something other than black waters was extremely refreshing. Even if that island turned out to be nothing, it would give Stingmon some deserved rest, and it would give them a chance to find Kari.

Luckily this island had no mountains, otherwise it would've been nearly identical to the first one. The trees and the sand were of the same dark grey they had been back when they arrived, but they seemed full of color after such a monochrome journey. But it wasn't a lasting feeling. The island was as lifeless as everything else they had seen, the leaves couldn't react to the inexistent wind, and no animal or Digimon moved anywhere, outside of their own. If it weren't for the waves, it would be like stepping on a painting.

"Stingmon, do you need to rest?"

"There's no need to, Ken."

"Really? We could've been flying for hours. I could even say days"

"I'm tired, but I don't need to rest. I'm more comfortable staying in this form, in case anything happens"

"Yeah… anything. Anything"

He actually wished anything could happen. Something good, or maybe even something bad. Anything.

ExVeemon didn't share that thought, and went back to his Veemon form as soon as he landed, not even bothering to place Tai, Davis and Agumon safely on the sand. That group was so loud. They disrupted the silence of this world, but since they wanted the world to awake, maybe that's exactly what they needed. Pegasusmon didn't go back to Patamon, but he did lay on the ground, as T.K. comforted him.

"Is this the place, Ken?" the voice of Tai was directed towards him, this time.

"No. I can't really say what I saw. But it was no island. It was… otherworldly. I don't know why my D-3 guided us here"

"I'm sure there's a good reason for that. We just have to figure it out. We can't ask for a lighthouse every time we don't what to do. At least we're getting somewhere"

"Sorry I can't help"

"You already have. Come on, let's go"

Agumon seemed to be the only Digimon with energy. Veemon and Pegasusmon hadn't moved at all, and Stingmon silently observed the four DigiDestined. After all, he was the only one who hadn't Digivolved and flown for hours, since Agumon could only do so by transforming into MetalGreymon and WarGreymon. Davis seemed to have lost all enthusiasm as well, something Tai and T.K. were compensating purely with determination.

"Does this mean Kari is in here?" asked Davis

"No. Well, at least I don't think so. We'd need to see… anything" he said, trying to be as optimistic as possible. He probably didn't do a good job.

"No, Kari might not be here, but if your D-3 brought us here, I'm sure it's because it wants us to find something"

"Yeah. Digivices don't act randomly" T.K. confirmed Tai's thoughts. Courage and Hope. It's what they all needed "I think we need to explore the island, there could be a lead hiding somewhere. Pegasusmon needs to rest for a while, but as soon as he can…"

"Greymon and I will begin right now"

"Stingmon, do you think you can do it?"

"I am ready to do so"

"Alright then, Stingmon and I will explore the other side"

"Are you sure, Stingmon?" asked Davis "You've been flying for too long. You must be… exhausted"

"ExVeemon doesn't have my experience when it comes to fly for long distances. Worry not"

Stingmon's voice was much more puzzling than Wormmon's. While his Rookie partner was shy, he was always complimenting him for just about everything. Stingmon was more mysterious, and as such, he couldn't really tell if his partner was telling the truth, or if he simply wanted to impress him. He wasn't going to keep asking when he had made his position abundantly clear, but he was going to worry.

Greymon was impressively large and powerful, probably more so than any other Champion outside of Angemon, but he wasn't the best scout. If he walked near the water he could never find anything, but if he tried otherwise he would leave a trail of broken trees without even trying. Ken wasn't sure why Agumon couldn't have done that without digivolving, but it wasn't worth arguing.

He decided to stay behind, with Davis and the rest, as he didn't want his partner to carry him when he was already unsure about him flying at all. Stingmon could cover a lot more terrain than Greymon and much faster, too, there was no need to handicap him.

He was sitting right next to Davis, as Veemon had finally moved, if only to get more comfortable. Considering how awful Dragomon's Realm was, he was surprised to find out the sand in this island was actually soft. It seemed out of place.

"Has this place always been like this? When you first arrived, I mean"

"I don't remember a lot from that time, Davis… I think the Dark Spore had something to do with it. I can only remember some details. I only remember I arrived in here. I felt devastated, and that voice told me to use my Digivice on the water… I don't know. It was awful. All I could feel in here was… I was depressed. It only made it worse"

"And when you were the Emperor? You were here too, right?"

"I remember even less about that. It's probably for the best. I know I came in here, but I don't remember why. Maybe to learn more about this place in order to make the rings… if that's the case, then I'm glad to have forgotten"

"I can't even imagine what it has to be like to just… forget about so much. You had, what, half your life wiped out of your memory"

His past had never been good. He was happier thinking about the present, and the future. The more he thought about it, the more his neck hurt, and the worse he felt. He had accepted his life started the day Wormmon's ended.

Stingmon arrived shortly afterwards. He hadn't found anything on a first glance, and before exploring the forest with more detail he wanted both Veemon and Pegasusmon to be with him. It was only a matter of time before Tai appeared.

Ken wanted to comfort T.K., somehow, but it was hard to talk to him directly. The two of them had become good friends over the years, but he had always been much closer to Davis, and they had never really bonded like T.K. had with all other DigiDestined. He could tell him something, but he wasn't sure he could cheer him up, and anything else could be seen merely as false reassurance. He tried to organize his thoughts, but then Davis' voice directed everyone to the water.

"Monsters! There are monsters in the water!"

The trio and their Digimon looked at the Ocean, and there they were. Eight, nine, over a dozen shadowy figures, no taller than themselves, were emerging from the Dark Sea. Their entire bodies oozed darkness, as if there was nothing underneath, but they had eyes. Big, sad eyes, looking at them. Those eyes… those strangely human eyes. They weren't the eyes of monsters. They were the eyes of victims.

"Who are you? What do you want?" asked Davis

The figures didn't reply. Instead, a few of them pointed their arms towards the group, as if they were trying to grab them from a distance.

"You are his cult, aren't you? Yes, I'm sure you are. You… you're the same things from the last time. You…" T.K. was seething with rage. Pegasusmon stood up, just to be near him.

And then, a voice came out of the dark. It was a sad voice, filled with pain, but not weakness.

"You… you disturb the Sea. Leave. Now"

"We aren't leaving!" said Davis, as Veemon returned to his ExVeemon form.

"Wait, wait! Calm down, Davis, ExVeemon, T.K.! Let's all calm down. Let's talk. Let's talk. I don't know how to address you… but we're here for a girl. A human girl. A human girl called Kari. Help us find her, and we'll all leave"

"Humans perturb the water. Leave"

"Yes. Yes, we want to leave. We want all humans to leave. Help us find Kari, and we'll all leave"

The shades were much closer than they initially were. He didn't know if he had walked towards them, or if they had, but he didn't remember either. It's as if the beach had turned smaller.

"You leave. Leave us alone. Leave him alone"

"Him? You mean Dragomon, right? Yes, we want to leave him alone"

"And you leave her alone. The Mistress"

"Mistress? Who's that? You… you're not talking about Kari, right?"

He hoped that wasn't the case. He didn't want to see Davis' reaction to that. And much less, Tai's and TK's.

"The Mistress brought Light to the Master. Light and Dark. Dark and Light. A new world shall be born. The Master's heir will. Leave them all alone"

T.K. was not capable to remain away. He ordered Pegasusmon to attack, and he didn't hesitate. ExVeemon jumped right afterwards.

Pegasusmon used his Wind Mane to make the minions cower, and ExVeemon chose the more direct approach of directly punching one of them, the closest one to Ken, the one who had, presumably, talked to him.

"Leave the Ocean alone. The Ocean is awake, and it can be angered"

"Let Dragomon get angry. Let him try. I will destroy him. I promise you, and I promise him. Release Kari now!" said T.K.

The shadows didn't hesitate, but their eyes changed. They were no longer sad, and no longer human. Their eyes were completely alien, and looked at them with fury. Their voices, and there were many now, were deeper.

"A sacrifice will be our offering"

And then, just as Stingmon and his friends got ready to fight, the minions were covered in an enormous explosion, that left only ash and smoke as it cleared. The shock paralyzed him. He had fallen down, and his ears could only hear a high pitched noise. But the origin of the explosion was readily apparent. Near them, Tai, alongside a gigantic MetalGreymon, looked at them.

He tried to said something, but then the sand beneath him disappeared. He was falling, even though an island had been under him the whole time. At his sides, there was water. Black water. He was falling to the abyss, fast, unstoppable. He was drowning again. He could barely see, but the little he saw, was MetalGreymon and a few blurry images twirling. And then, as suddenly as he started to fall, he stopped.

His entire body was hurt, just as if he had fallen from great height, but it was the back of his neck was hurt the most. He could withstand the pain, because his bones weren't broken. His body wasn't, as it should've. All the pain was on his mind. He tried to breathe, and even though he felt there was barely any air around him, he could. On his sides, there were his friends. They seemed as perplexed as he was.

It seemed as if they were still underwater, but they could not feel the water. They could open their eyes perfectly, and as tough as it was, they could still breathe. They couldn't swim.

Davis yelled. He could. He was as surprised as Ken was.

"Where… are we?"

And in front of them, there it was, even though it hadn't been a second ago. A large structure, larger than anything Ken had ever seen. It seemed solid, but not made of any material known to him. Its shapes made no sense, as no natural building could've been built like that. It didn't seem physical, in a way, as it seemed to blend in the water like a liquid. Whatever it was, it was not meant for a human mind. He had to look away, because he felt that, the longer he looked at it, the less he understood it.

"Tai… this is it. This is the place. This is where Kari is"


	16. Izzy (III)

He felt betrayed. How could have they hidden all that from him? It was inconceivable. The existence of a fifth, supreme Sovereign had never been that farfetched. Gods usually had a Father figure of the Pantheon, including Odin and Zeus, and since Digimon seemed to be based, in one way or the other, in human myths, it had always been possible. But the existence of a large war in the past, with Seven Demon Lords… that information was crucial. It changed everything. The Dark Area… that unknown place. He knew it had housed many evil Digimon, but he didn't know there were Demon so powerful they had threatened the Sovereigns, even the world. The Dark Area was their hiding place, they couldn't get out, but they could have plans. And now that one of them was back in action… what could he do? What was Daemon up to? Did he want to go back to destroy the Digital World? Maybe now he was focused on the Real World? What did he want to do with Dragomon?

So many unknowns. If only they had told him when he first appeared… he'd have had four years to investigate. He'd be ready for what was coming. And he had appeared on the Real World… he could've been active on the Digital World for much longer. It wasn't Azulongmon's fault back then, but still… in secret, Daemon could've raised an army or worse… And they only knew about Daemon. What if the other Six were planning on his back, as well? Even assuming Daemon was the most powerful and the most cunning, having other Six so-called Demon Lords in the wild could prove to be fatal to both Worlds. What the hell were Azulongmon and Gennai thinking. It was understandable not to tell the other DigiDestined… but they should've told him. How could he watch over the Digital World if he didn't even know its past? When such a threat was hiding in its very core, one that he was completely ignorant about?

Kabuterimon was slower than Aquilamon, so he couldn't discuss with Yolei. She was surprised about the discovery, naturally, but didn't seem to care about how Gennai and Azulongmon had hidden such vital information. It was relevant for what was going on now, so at least they finally knew it, but what else could the Sovereigns be hiding from him, from them? They shouldn't feel happy their allies had given them what they needed, she should be angry they had hidden the truth for so long. The more he thought about it, the less he understood it, and the less he liked it. What if there was another Digimon comparable to Dragomon and the Demon Lords out there? When would he find out? He could already picture Gennai and Azulongmon telling him about it after it had devoured half the Digital World.

The idea was to go back to the Real World and find a better way to protect the children Daemon could target but… could they? If Daemon was indeed part of a legendary group of Demon Lords, and he was completely sure that was the case, then they didn't have a good shot at stopping him in their current state. Daemon knew how to open Digital Gates… he knew where to find Noriko… he probably knew where to find them, as well. The best he had were his hypothesis, and none of them could lead them to his position. And it wasn't even Daemon who showed up in their world, but a mere minion. And four years ago, he appeared alongside another three… all of them, Ultimate Demon Digimon. How many more did he have? Were they coming from the Dark Area, too? If so, the idea of having to fight against the Seven Demon Lords was extremely likely. Considering Daemon was more powerful than Imperialdramon Fighter Mode… there was no realistic way they could stand up against the Seven. But if the Seven were indeed out there… why hadn't they tried a more direct approach?

Yolei and Aquilamon landed, ready to open the Digital Gate. After Kabuterimon descended, he went back to Tentomon. Yolei said something, but he needed to plan the best course of action so he didn't listen. The two of them could go back to the Real World, but he didn't want to leave the task of finding Daemon up to Azulongmon and the other Sovereigns. Not only their track record wasn't the best, he couldn't even trust them. And the two of them could stay in the Digital World to find him. They probably would, but then, Sora and the others would be relatively vulnerable.

"Izzy?"

"Yolei, I have to ask you to do something, for me"

"Uh?"

"You know the Digital World, on a surface level, much better than anyone else. And you're fast, Aquilamon. And more importantly, you have a D-3"

"Well, Izzy, I know we're awesome. Next time, start from that rather than telling me I have to do something"

"I have to go back to our world to investigate, and help where I'm needed. You, however, need to find anything that can lead you to Daemon. As long as he knows more about us than we do about him, we're on a significant disadvantage. You're the only person I can trust to carry out this task"

Yolei didn't seem surprised. She was confident and very willing to help him. That's why he worked with her when he needed some muscle work.

"I'll do my best, but I don't know where to start. Or what to do, really… Asking around "Hey, have you seen this super powerful Demon Lord?" doesn't seem like the best thing to do, but I can't come up with anything else. Don't you know where the Gate opened? I don't think Daemon would open the Gate on his evil villain lair, but who knows, maybe I can start investigating from there"

"I'm afraid not. Usually I have that information, but this time the anomaly masked it. It could've been opened anywhere"

Or, to be more precise, right under Gennai's nose.

"That's what I feared…"

"Do you think you can do it? I'd understand, if you cannot"

"Uhm… well… it certainly is a hard job, you know? I don't know"

Her tone would've been more sincere if she hadn't winked at him. He'd have to play her game.

"Yolei, have I ever told you you're an incredible human being, talented and intelligent, and that Aquilamon is the fastest and strongest bird Digimon I've ever seen or read about?"

"Oh wow Izzy, how kind of you. And in a completely unrelated note, I think I have an idea. I can't promise anything, but I think I can get at least some information"

"Your willingness to help is fantastic, as unconnected as it is from my previous flattery"

"I'll tell you anything I can find. Do the same"

"You have to inform me of absolutely anything, Yolei. Anything"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, Aquilamon!"

Yolei opened the Gate, and immediately afterwards, flew towards their only hope.

"Do you think she'll find him?" asked Tentomon.

"I think she'll try her best. Sadly, that already places her in a better position than some others are"


	17. Tai (II)

The Giga Blaster opened a hole in the strange castle structure. He wasn't planning on risking anything, and he was tired of waiting. The large building was nothing like he had ever seen, but he was glad to know MetalGreymon was capable of damaging it. The hole revealed strange stairs, which on a first glance looked like waves given shape. He wasn't going to give it any second thoughts.

"MetalGreymon, once again"

His partner nodded, and used its powerful attack to make the hole even bigger. It wasn't a normal hole, so to speak, but it worked similarly to how holes would work in that… thing. Foamy edges that were bursting continuously had appeared on the previously untouched structure, and inside, the stairs. He didn't care. He'd blast the whole place to pieces if that's what it'd take to find Kari.

"Tai, shouldn't we go inside?" asked an unusually timid Davis.

"If Dragomon wasn't an enemy before, he sure will be if you continue like this…" said Ken

"He's an enemy. He kidnapped Kari in the past and he's done it again. I'm not running away. If he wants me to stop, give me my sister. If he tries anything, and I mean anything, then we'll blast him, too" he had already made his choice.

"What if he hurts Kari for this, Tai? Have you thought about this?" T.K.'s voice was always there, to voice his own fears.

"I have. And as far as I know he's already done it. And if he hasn't, he planned to. You hear me, Dragomon? Give me my sister and we'll stop. Don't and I'll destroy you, this castle, and even the entire Sea. MetalGreymon, I think he quite doesn't understand what we're talking about. We'll have to be louder"

MetalGreymon attacked twice. The explosion was muted by water, but it was still loud enough to satisfy his angriest side. And then, T.K. slapped him. It came out of nowhere, but it was enough for him not to even notice the third explosion.

"What the hell are you doing? Have you gone crazy?"

"No, Tai. But if you don't stop right now you'll regret it"

"I'll regret it? Are you threatening me or something?"

"No! But this is not a good or healthy approach for anyone, at all! You're angry and I understand but you have to stop right now!"

"Shut up! You can't tell me what to do. It's my sister and I'll do anything to find her! MetalGreymon, I'm not hearing any more explosions!"

They were all looking at him. MetalGreymon wasn't attacking despite his command.

"MetalGreymon… please. Please. Do it"

"Tai, calm down. I hate seeing you like this" replied his partner

"Why don't you understand. Why don't any of you understand. She's my sister. And that monster could… he could be…"

He was angry. He hadn't been angrier in a long time. Dragomon could be doing terrible things to his sister and they wanted to sit and chat. He had to get her out of there right away. He was so frustrated he could continue from where MetalGreymon stopped with his bare hands.

"Tai, I understand. But please, you'll just make things worse. Think about Kari. If she's scared and hurt now… you don't want to worry her even more. There's another way"

The shadow creatures that attacked them at the beach appeared again. It'd be impossible to tell how, as they seemed just a reflection in the water before they decidedly became material. Their eyes kept looking at them, angrily.

"You have disturbed the water. You have disturbed the Sea. The Master won't be pleased"

"Tai, let me go in. Let me find Kari. Just Pegasusmon and me. I'll bring her here. I promise"

MetalGreymon was still too big to go inside, and he didn't know how he'd react if he saw Kari hurt. T.K. was determined. He had Matt's eyes, and Matt wasn't known to give up on his friends.

"Go. Fast"

T.K. went inside, with Pegasusmon flying next to him. Davis attempted to follow, but Tai stopped him.

"We have to cover him"

Davis nodded, and their three Digimon attacked.

The almost endless number of shadows that kept appearing were no threat to MetalGreymon, ExVeemon and Stingmon, who were taking them down on the hundreds. ExVeemon and Stingmon were careful, and their attacks were never deadly. They were given those mindless minions the benefit of doubt that Tai wasn't going to. MetalGreymon's enormous power was enough to take the largest part of the army head on. The shadows of their bodies tried to harm him but none of it was enough. Their dark projectiles couldn't pierce MetalGreymon's armor or skin, but a single sweep from his Mega Claw or the explosions from his Giga Blaster were mowing them down. But still, no matter how many he'd take down, more would appear to replace them.

"Just how many are there?" asked Ken.

"At least T.K. will be on his own" replied Stingmon, as he sliced two different enemies "The castle must be empty"

"It's not a castle, it's more like a giant turtle thing made out of nothing" said ExVeemon.

"But if functions as a castle"

"Not a castle. More like a tomb"

"Many old buildings worked as both"

"For the love of… this is not the time to argue that!" yelled Davis.

MetalGreymon was starting to show his effort, but he was still holding up. None of his enemies were a match. But then, among them, one of the shadow creatures began to grow. From being shorter than himself, the thing increased its size to match that of MetalGreymon, and leaped at him.

"This can't be good… MetalGreymon, watch out!"

MetalGreymon only noticed the giant when it was too late, and it knocked him down. Its now gigantic arms flailed and punched his partner, while making an unnatural noise.

"Davis, Ken, help him!"

The two humans nodded, and their partners replied by flying towards the enemy. Their attacks hit it on the back, but they didn't stop it. When they tried it again, the monster slapped them and sent them against the giant sea of enemies. The army jumped towards them, and started attacking them, before a blue light blinded them.

"ExVeemon!" screamed Davis, blinded himself.

"Stingmon" replied Ken, much more quietly.

The giant looked at the two wounded Digimon, seemingly unaffected by the light.

"DNA digivolve to… Paildramon!"

The joint evolution sent the army flying with his own massive strength. They stopped attacking, and even moving towards him. They were looking at Paildramon and the light of the DNA Digivolution, without moving at all. Except the Giant. It walked away from MetalGreymon and faced him, being much taller and impressive. The giant tried to punch Paildramon too, but it wasn't quick enough.

"Sting Strike"

The spikes on his wrists grew to become as long as his arms, and effortlessly blocked the attack before retaliating and striking the giant in several places. It tried to defend itself, but Paildramon was too fast and too small to be an easy target. MetalGreymon finally stood up, wounded, but not out.

Paildramon dodged a punch and grabbed the enemy's arm. With noticeable effort, he started spinning and managed to throw it towards MetalGreymon.

"Don't give him a chance!" shouted Tai.

MetalGreymon used his normal arm to grab the giant's head. It didn't look solid, as if it was made from shadows, but it couldn't defend itself from his partner's claw, which crushed it with ease before throwing the headless body against the largest group of normal enemies, still immobile. The giant still moved, and tried to stand up, but Paildramon kicked it back down after flying incredibly fast.

"Desperado Blaster!"

Paildramon's attack landed easily on the giant, which screamed a hellish scream before it exploded, alongside most of the regular creatures.

"All right!" yelled Davis

Only a few enemies remained, and they didn't attack. But they weren't looking at Paildramon, or the tired MetalGreymon. They were looking at the castle, tomb, turtle, or whatever it was. Then, all of them, in unison, started walking away, in silence. Tai noticed it, but the castle hadn't changed at all.

"What the hell is going on?"

And then, everything started trembling. A dark feeling invaded him. And then everything around him started to collapse.


	18. TK (III)

As soon as he entered the so-called building, it became immediately obvious how otherworldly it was. He felt like he was stepping on water, and the walls had eyes. Not human eyes, but he could still feel how they followed him. Pegasusmon shared his worries. The ground kept moving, it was constantly shaking, as if trying to walk on a surfing board. They were on a seemingly endless hallway, and it didn't matter if he ran or walked, because he moved at the same speed.

"I cannot understand this place", declared Pegasusmon, "I can feel the darkness everywhere, but I think I'm being deceived"

"This whole place seems like it's being created as we see more of it. Just what is it? Dragomon's castle?"

"I don't know, T.K. I've never seen anything like it. It escapes everything I know"

T.K. stopped, and looked at the wall. If the entire place seemed a strange mix between solid and liquid… what were those walls? With a single finger, he touched the surface, and it created waves.

"Pegasusmon, attack here. Let's see what's behind this"

He had to move away, and there was an explosion. A very real explosion, and cracks appeared. A water wall with cracks…. It was best not to think too hard about it. He looked at the newly created hole, and there was nothing behind. He tried to walk outside, but instantly he felt the lack of air. Somehow, outside of that hole, water seemed to go back to normal. He felt the pressure, too, and had to go back to the hallway immediately.

"T.K.! Are you alright?"

"I… don't know what… Pegasusmon, watch out!"

A shadow hit Pegasusmon and slammed him against the opposite wall. Three more shadows entered, swimming from the hole. They were the same creatures that had attacked them before, but seemed more vicious in the way they jumped to attack.

"Star Shower!"

The attack hit one of the shadows directly, and sent it back to the abyss it came from. The remaining ones attacked him immediately, but a green beam coming from his forehead destroyed them. When that happened, the entire structure began to tremble. T.K. jumped on his partner's back.

"We need to be faster! Don't stop until I say so, Pegasusmon!"

And his partner started flying, faster than he ever had.

More shadows tried to stop them, but they were weak enemies. They always attacked the same way, they just jumped at them, exposing themselves to Pegasusmon's power. None of them were thinking, they just wanted to stop them.

"They're just throwing themselves at us"

"All they want is to protect Dragomon. They don't even care if they live"

"What sort of monster can force other beings to act like that?"

"The sort of monster who has Kari"

It felt like it had been hours. The castle was everchanging. They could swim in some parts of it, and in some others, gravity was reversed, like in Myotismon's. Other parts had invisible walls, and in some others they seemed to be made out of bones. One of them was undoubtedly a Whamon in the past. Only the suicidal attacks of the shadows were constant. It didn't matter where they were, how the hallways behaved, they never tried to change tactics. They jumped at them, knowing they couldn't stop them, just in case they could.

As they moved forward, the castle seemed to move more. The water was perturbed and shaking in strange patterns, and changed colors. Before they went there, the only colors in the Dark Ocean were black and grey, and now he was surrounded by purple, green and golden. And his head hurt, a lot. Was that because they were closer to Dragomon?

"I feel it, too" assured his partner, even though he didn't say anything.

"What do you feel?"

"This place is playing mindgames on us. It's what it does. It's what Ken said. It weakens us that way. It caused the fight, and now it's trying to confuse us"

"He'll need to try a lot harder than some flashing lights and a bunch of nonsense to get me to forget about what I'm doing"

"Watch your words. You don't really want him to try harder"

And Pegasusmon was right.

A bleeping. He heard a bleeping. He almost jumped, scared, but he immediately recognized the sound. It wasn't something Dragomon was doing. It was his D-3. His D-3 was reacting to something.

"Pegasusmon! Here! She's here! Right behind this!"

He pointed another wall, and Pegasusmon attacked, immediately. Behind there was a room, a surprisingly room-looking room. Many shadows looked at him, and in the middle, floating, surrounded by a purple light, there were Gatomon and Kari's D-3.

"Gatomon!"

The shadows moved towards them. T.K. jumped away from his partner, who started defending himself. T.K. looked around. There was no sign of Kari. Nothing… but Gatomon. He ran towards her, trying to dodge the wounded shadows that were no match for Pegasusmon.

"Gatomon! Can you hear me?"

If she could, she didn't show it. She was there, floating, lifeless. He reached out and grabbed her, with no trouble. He held her tight, close to him. She was alive, but unconscious.

"Gatomon! Gatomon! What happened! What has happened to you? Where's Kari?"

He felt a hit. A shadow had tackled him, one that was strong enough to pin him down. He faced those evil eyes staring right back at him, and then, a gaping maw opened in the place of those eyes. It smelled terribly, and it was overpowering him. A mouth so huge it could swallow his entire head, approaching him, relentless.

"Pegasusmon!"

He wasn't going to die. He wasn't going to let a nameless monster finish him. And it didn't. Pegasusmon stomped the creature, and finished it off with a beam of energy. Gatomon hadn't reacted. He reached out and grabbed the D-3, and only then he realized Pegasusmon had cleared off the room from any possible attacker.

"What… what have they done to her? What were they doing? Is she…"

"She seems to be fine, Pegasusmon. I don't know anything else… but she's alive. They must have been experimenting on her… on it" he said, looking at the D-3, "But now we know Kari is here! I don't know where or what they're doing, but she is here! Gatomon, come on, please, wake up! Wake up! Tell us where she is!"

"T.K.! I don' think she can tell us now…"

Gatomon reacted, but didn't open her big eyes. She seemed to be going through a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

"That's him, isn't it. Even in dreams he's tormenting her. He's tormenting us"

"I think so, T.K. … let's go. Kari cannot be far away"

"Go… away" said a sickling voice.

The two looked. One of the shadows were crawling towards them. It had the human eyes they had before, and its voice wasn't a threatening one, but a pleading one.

"Leave… leave us alone"

"You! You monster! Tell me! Tell me where Kari is! Tell me where you're keeping her!"

T.K. was grabbing the thing from what he believed it was his neck. He was tired. He needed to put an end to it.

"You… must not interfere"

"I will! Tell me where she is!"

"The Master needs his Mistress. The Stranger promised!"

"Tell me where she is!"

"Leave them alone! This world needs light! Dark needs light and light needs dark! Don't take the light away from us. Please!"

It was… crying? What did that mean?

"T.K. … look at it. Listen to it. This one isn't thinking properly"

It sobbed.

"What… are you?"

"I'm nothing. I serve the Master. He's all. He's complete now. You cannot take the light away…"

"Tell me. Please. I need her too. Let the light decide where she wants to be. Please"

"The throne… they're at the throne… they need to join. Dark and light… light and dark…"

It kept repeating that for a minute. T.K. stood up. He didn't know what to think.

"These… things cannot think properly anymore. Dragomon took away everything they had. We'll take him down. For Kari, and for them"

He rode Pegasusmon again, with the unconscious Gatomon on his side. The shadow had pointed a wall before it reduced itself to a crying mess. Where he was guiding them or not, it was the only thing they had, so Pegasusmon started to fly, taking down any and all walls in their way.

It didn't take long before they stopped. A massive room, with three of its walls covered completely by bones, and filled with shadows awaited him. It was big enough to have fit his entire building inside, so cavernous it couldn't have been anywhere else.

And there she was.

Near the side with no bones, there was a big structure, bigger than a car, made out of scales and flesh, and on it, immobile, was Kari. She seemed unharmed, even if her dress was somewhat torn. But there was something on her head. Something that looked like a black bubble. His heart was beating fast. There were too many shadows for Pegasusmon to fight, but none of them jumped towards them.

"Pegasusmon, get close, get to her. Anything that approaches, give them the only mercy that can save them now"

"…Understood"

But they didn't move. He could get to her with ease.

"Kari! Kari! Kari! Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Kari!"

Her eyes were open, but they weren't hers. They were blank. He didn't know what he could do, and he tried to take out the bubble, but he couldn't. The bubble barely moved, he couldn't burst it or anything.

"Kari! Kari! What have you done to her! What have you done! Here, Kari! Kari! I have your D-3! See? See?"

He got it close to her, and it started to shine. The shadows complained but didn't move. And her eyes became hers again.

"Kari!"

"T.K…. T.K.?" she said, with her sweet voice. Nothing had ever sounded better. Nothing could. She was alright. He placed his hand on her shoulder, because the bubble didn't allow him to get to her face.

"I have been… so worried"

"T.K…. They… They… I don't know what they've…"

She started screaming in pain and shaking uncontrollably. He tried to hold her, but she was inhumanly strong.

"T.K.!" yelled Pegasusmon.

And then, from Kari's mouth, a big black beam of energy hit Pegasusmon with such strength it sent him towards the shadows. He was going to react, but Kari grabbed his wrist.

Her eyes were dead. Her mouth was bleeding, and something that looked like a black sludge seemed to be pouring out of it.

"What…"

"Light and dark. Dark and light. You don't belong here" it was her voice, lacking any emotion. It was the most terrifying thing he had ever heard.

He walked away immediately, grabbing Gatomon away from her. Kari was shaking and stood up, standing and twitching in an unnatural way. He was crying. That couldn't be Kari. Whatever they had done to her… they had turned her into… a monster.

But she was there. He had just talked to her. She was there… inside.

"What have you done to her?" he cried, and fell to his knees. Just why did all that had to happen. Why couldn't it have been over once he found her, as it should. The thing that wasn't Kari but looked like her approached.

"You're trying to take me away from my God. You're trying to separate him from the Heir. You… humans. Such pathetic, feeble creatures"

"You humans? You, humans? Kari is a human! Kari is one of us! She's not like you! Get away from her, Dragomon. Please"

The thing smiled. Kari's smile always made him feel full of butterflies, but when that thing smiled using her face, it only made him want to throw up.

"This is my world. This is where I belong. Darkness and light are together and last. The stronger the light, the stronger the darkness. The stronger the darkness, the stronger the light! And this is the world of darkness. Now that light is here, just how powerful will it be? All worlds will be engulfed by the light… and the dark"

None of that made sense, nothing. And Dragomon kept talking from her. Using her voice and her body, but with none of the things that made her Kari. But he couldn't even fight. He felt his very core dying for what the monster had done to the most important person in his life.

The thing was standing right in front of him, looking down. He was on his knees, crying, wanting to scream, to punch her, to save her…

The thing grabbed his wrist.

"You want this body? It's but a vessel. There is light inside. And now there is dark as well. They will create the heir that will be the harbinger of the Great One. Once it has run out of use, you can keep it"

He tried to punch it, but it grabbed his free arm. Its strength was that of a monster, not that of a young girl.

"I will kill you for this"

It didn't react.

"If you want this so much, share my fate"

Kari's mouth opened, and something, that looked like spider legs, crawled out of her mouth. Black, monstrous. They were trying to escape her body. They wanted to enter him. T.K. wanted to look away, he wanted to forget that nightmarish vision right there… but Kari would never be free if he gave up Hope.

"I am not afraid"

"Human feelings are insignificant to us"

"Hand of Fate!"

A powerful blast of holy energy blasted Kari against the structure that had restrained her before, bursting the black bubble that had surrounded her. He looked back, and standing tall, floating, magnificent, was Angemon. The shadow beings were running away, scared, while the light coming from Angemon filled the void.

T.K. went running towards Kari, who was on the ground. He picked her up and looked at her eyes. They were hers. He could actually touch her hair now. Her cheek.

"Kari… are you alright?"

"T.K…. T.K…. don't let him to it again. T.K…. keep him away from me. T.K. don't let him…."

She didn't finish. She started twitching again, and more black sludge poured outside of her mouth. He tried to hold her, but there was nothing he could do to stop her.

And then, the wall in front of them, the one that wasn't covered in bone, the one that was bigger than the building he lived in, the one they were closest to, opened. An enormous eye was now on its place, looking at them, as Kari shook more uncontrollably than ever before. It was red.

Kari whispered something. Something with her voice, something with her fear.

"Dragomon"

And then, everything started trembling. A dark feeling invaded him. And then everything around them started to collapse.


End file.
